WASHINGTON 

GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


HENRY  LANDES,  STATE  GEOLOGIST. 


Volume  I. 

ANNUAL  REPORT  FOR  1901. 

IN  SIX  PARTS. 


PART  IV. 


— 

THE  IRON  ORES  OF  WASHINGTON. 

By  S.  SHEDD. 

THE  COAL  DEPOSITS  OF  WASHINGTON. 

By  HENRY  LANDES. 


OLYMPIA,  WASH.: 

G WIN  HIQKS,  . . . STATE  PRINTER 
1902. 


WASHINGTON 

GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 

HENRY  LANDES,  STATE  GEOLOGIST. 


Volume  I. 

ANNUAL  REPOET  FOR  1901. 

IN  SIX  PARTS. 


PART  TV. 


THE  IRON  ORES  OF  WASHINGTON. 

By  S.  SHEDD. 

THE  COAL  DEPOSITS  OF  WASHINGTON. 

By  HENRY  LANDES. 


ftotoe  t 


OLYMPIA,  WASH.: 

GWIN  HICKS,  . . . STATE  PRINTER, 
1902. 


BOARD  OF  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY, 


Henry  McBride, President. 

Governor  of  Washington. 

C.  W.  Maynard, Secretary. 


Treasurer  of  Washington. 

F.  P.  Graves, — 

President  of  the  University  of  Washington. 

E.  A.  Bryan, — 

President  of  the  Washington  Agricultural  College  and  School  of  Science. 


STAFF  OF  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


Henry  Landes, State  Geologist. 

Professor  of  Geology,  University  of  Washington. 

Solon  Shedd, Geologist. 

Professor  of  Geology,  Washington  Agricultural  College  and 
School  of  Science. 

W.  S.  Thyng, Geologist. 

Professor  of  Mining  Engineering,  Washington  Agricultural 
College  and  School  of  Science. 

D.  A.  Lyon, Geologist. 

Late  Professor  of  Mining  Engineering  and  Metallurgy, 

University  of  Washington. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Preface vii 

The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington,  by  S.  Shedd 1 

Distribution  and  Combinations  in  which  Iron  Occurs 1 

General  Statement 1 

The  Ores  of  Iron 2 

Production  of  Iron  Ores  in  the  United  States,  by  Classes 4 

The  Relative  Values  of  Iron  Ores  4 

History  of  Iron  Mining  and  Manufacture  in  Washington 5 

Distribution  of  Iron  Ores  in  Washington 8 

Analyses  of  Washington  Iron  Ores 9 

The  Character  and  Commercial  Value  of  the  Iron  Ores  of  Wash- 
ington   11 

Varieties  of  Ores 11 

Commercial  Values 11 

Summary 13 

Analyses  of  Iron  Ores  of  Various  Mines  in  the  United  States  and 

Cuba 14 

The  Iron  Mining  Possibilities  of  Washington 16 

Conditions  Necessary  for  Profitable  Iron  Mining 16 

Conditions  in  Skagit  County 16 

Conditions  in  Kittitas  County 16 

Conditions  in  King  County 17 

Conditions  in  Stevens  County 17 

Conditions  in  Mason  County 18 

Lake  Cushman  District 18 

Analyses  of  Iron  Ores  from  Lake  Cushman 18 

Black  Hills 19 

Analyses  of  Iron  Ores  from  the  Black  Hills,  Chehalis 

County 19 

Hamilton  District 19 

Analyses  of  Iron  Ores  from  the  Hamilton  District,  Skagit 

County 19 

Location  and  Mode  of  Occurrence  of  the  Ore 19 

Extent  of  Iron  Deposits 20 

Character  and  Composition  of  the  Hamilton  Ores 21 

Snoqualmie  Pass  District 25 

Analyses  of  Iron  Ores  from  Snoqualmie  Pass,  King  County,  25 

Mode  of  Occurrence  of  the  Snoqualmie  Pass  Ores 25 

Character  and  Composition  of  the  Snoqualmie  Pass  Ores  . . 26 

Clealum  District 27 

Analyses  of  Iron  Ores  from  the  Clealum  District,  Kittitas 

County 27 

Mode  of  Occurrence  of  the  Clealum  Ores 27 

Character  and  Composition  of  the  Clealum  Ores 28 

Geology  of  the  Clealum  Iron  District 29 

Pre-Eocene  Rocks 29 

Eocene  and  Post- Eocene  Rocks 29 

Genesis  of  the  Ores 33 

Source  of  the  Iron 33 

Conditions  of  Deposition 34 

Chemical  Relations 35 


VI 


Contents. 


Iron  Ores  of  Washington — Continued:  page. 

Colville  and  Valley  District 36 

Analyses  of  Iron  Ores  from  Stevens  County 36 

The  Mode  of  Occurrence  of  the  Ores 36 

Character  and  Composition  of  the  Stevens  County  Ores. ...  37 

Clugston  Creek  District 37 

Conclusions 39 

The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington,  by  Henry  Landes 41 

Introduction 41 

Geology  of  the  Coal  Measures 43 

Varieties  and  Uses  of  the  Coal 46 

Whatcom  County 47 

Blue  Canyon  District 49 

Skagit  County 49 

Cokedale  District 50 

Hamilton  District 50 

King  County 51 

N ewcastle-Issaq uah  District 51 

Renton-Cedar  River  District 53 

Green  River  District 54 

Pierce  County 56 

Wilkeson-Carbonado  District 56 

Kittitas  County 59 

Roslyn-Clealum  District .' 59 

Thurston  County 61 

Bucoda-Tenino  District 61 

Lewis  County 62 

Chehalis-Centralia  District 62 

Cowlitz  County 63 

Kelso-Castle  Rock  District 63 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FACING  PAGE. 

Plant  of  Pacific  Steel  Company,  Irondale 1 

Furnace,  Pacific  Steel  Company,  Irondale 5 

Charcoal  Kilns,  Pacific  Steel  Company,  Irondale 5 

Iron  Mountain,  near  Hamilton 20 

Inaugural  Iron  Mine,  near  Hamilton 20 

Clealum  Mountain 28 

Guye  Iron  Mine,  near  Snoqualmie  Pass 28 

A Map  of  the  Known  Coal  Fields  of  Washington 41 

Coal  Bunkers,  Seattle 52 

No.  4 Opening  and  Electric  Lighting  Plant  at  Roslyn  Coal  Mines. . . 60 

Sections  of  Coal  Seams,  with  Coal  Analyses 66 

Sections  of  Coal  Seams,  with  Coal  Analyses 66 

Sections  of  Coal  Seams,  with  Coal  Analyses 66 


PREFACE. 


In  the  Iron  Ores  of  Washington,  by  S.  Shedd,  the  subject 
is  treated  more  exhaustively  than  is  the  case  with  any  other  part 
of  this  report.  A description  is  given  of  all  the  known  occur- 
rences of  iron  in  the  state,  together  with  complete  analyses  and 
comparisons  with  ores  found  elsewhere.  In  the  field  work  nec- 
essary to  the  preparation  of  the  article  on  iron  ores,  two  seasons 
were  occupied  by  Professor  Shedd  and  his  assistants.  The  field 
work  was  all  done  prior  to  the  inauguration  of  the  State  Geologi- 
cal Survey,  and  the  entire  expense  of  it  was  borne  by  the  State 
Agricultural  College  and  School  of  Science. 

The  article  on  the  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington,  by  Henry 
Landes,  is  a brief  description  of  the  coal  fields  and  coal  mines  of 
the  state.  While  the  general  geology  of  the  subject  is  touched 
upon,  along  with  the  extent  of  the  coal  areas,  etc.,  the  commer- 
cial phase  of  the  subject  receives  the  most  emphasis.  At  the 
present  time  coal  constitutes  by  far  the  most  important  mineral 
resource  of  the  state,  and  the  treatment  accorded  it  in  this  report 
is  regarded  as  wholly  inadequate.  The  present  article  is  but  a 
temporary  treatment  which  it  is  planned  to  replace  by  a thorough 
and  extended  one  a little  later. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/ironoresofwashin1419shed 


Washington  Geological  Survey. 


PLANT  OF  PACIFIC  STEEL  COMPANY,  IRONDALE. 


THE  IRON  ORES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


BY  S.  SHEDD. 


Note. — The  work  of  preparing  this  report  on  the  iron  ores  of  Wash- 
ington was  begun  in  the  summer  of  1899.,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Board  of  Regents  and  the  president  of  the  Washington  Agricultural 
College  and  School  of  Science,  and  the  entire  expense,  for  the  work,  has 
been  defrayed  by  the  College.  The  summer  of  1899  and  a part  of  the 
summer  of  1900  was  spent  in  the  field  visiting  the  different  localities, 
collecting  samples,  and  studying  the  different  deposits.  The  analyses 
of  the  Washington  ores  given  herein,  with  the  exception  of  those  taken 
from  a manuscript  report  by  R.  H.  Stretch,  E.  M.,  and  one  from  Willis 
and  Smith’s  paper  on  the  Clealum  district,  were  made  by  myself  or  by  the 
chemists  of  the  department  of  chemistry  in  the  Washington  Agricul- 
tural College  and  School  of  Science. 

While  I take  sincere  pleasure  in  acknowledging  the  kind  and  ready 
assistance  rendered  me  by  those  upon  whom  I had  occasion  to  call  for 
help  or  information  of  any  kind,  I am  especially  under  obligations  to 
Messrs.  Thomas  Cooper,  J.  J.  Conner,  Chas.  Denny,  and  H.  L.  Blan- 
chard for  the  interest  shown  and  the  help  given,  and  I desire  to  express 
to  them,  especially,  my  most  hearty  thanks  and  appreciation  of  their 
kindness. 

DISTRIBUTION  AND  COMBINATIONS  IN  WHICH  IRON  OCCURS. 

GENERAL  STATEMENT. 

Iron  is  one  of  the  most  widely  distributed  of  all  the  different 
minerals.  It  seldom  occurs  in  the  native  state,  but  is  combined 
with  different  elements,  oxygen  being  the  most  common  one, 
and  in  this  form  it  is  a very  important  factor  in  giving  the  color 
to  the  various  rocks  and  soils.  It  combines  with  sulphur  to 
form  sulphides  and  is  then  known  as  iron  pyrites  and  in  this 
form  it  is  very  important,  not  for  the  manufacture  of  iron,  but 
from  the  fact  that  it  frequently  carries  more  or  less  of  the 
precious  metals,  such  as  gold  and  silver.  Iron  is  also  found  in 
combination  with  other  elements,  such  as  phosphorus,  silica, 
titanium,  arsenic,  etc. 


2 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


THE  ORES  OF  IRON. 

While  iron  occurs  in  combination  with  many  different  ele- 
ments, there  are  only  a few  forms  that  are  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  iron.  The  valuable  ores  commercially  are  the  magnetites, 
the  hematites,  the  limonites,  and  the  carbonates. 

Magnetite  is  an  anhydrous  oxide  of  iron  and  when  perfectly 
pure  has  the  following  per  cent,  of  iron  and  of  oxygen  : Magnet- 
ite (Fe304)  metallic  iron,  72.4  per  cent.,  oxygen,  27.6  per  cent. 

While  theoretically  magnetite  should  contain  72.4  per  cent, 
of  iron,  practically  very  little  of  it  does  contain  so  high  a per 
cent,  on  account  of  the  impurities  that  occur  with  it.  The  com- 
mon impurities  are  such  minerals  as  quartz,  feldspar  and  horn- 
blende. Magnetites  always  give  a black  streak  and  differ  in  this 
respect  from  the  hematites  which  have  a red  or  brown  streak. 
The  magnetites  also  have  the  property  of  magnetism  ; that  is, 
they  are  attracted  by  a magnet. 

Of  the  different  varieties  of  iron  ores  mined  in  1899,  only 
1,727,430  long  tons,  or  7 per  cent,  was  magnetite.* 

Hematite  is  an  anhydrous  oxide  of  iron  having,  when  pure, 
the  following  composition:  Hematite  (Fe203),  oxygen  30  per 
cent.,  iron  70  per  cent. 

This  is  the  most  important  ore  of  iron  and  is  the  most  widely 
distributed  of  any  of  them,  being  disseminated  in  greater  or 
lesser  amounts  in  the  soils  and  nearly  all  rocks ; in  fact  most 
soils  and  rocks  owe  their  color  to  iron.  It  is  not  confined  to 
rocks  of  any  particular  geological  age  or  to  rocks  of  any  partic- 
ular kind.  There  are  several  different  varieties  of  hematite, 
such  as  specular  iron,  red  ochres  and  clay  iron  stone,  but  all  of 
these  varieties  when  pulverized  give  the  characteristic  red  pow- 
der which  distinguishes  them  from  the  other  oxides  of  iron. 

“The  specular  variety  is  mostly  confined  to  crystalline  or  metamor- 
phic  rocks,  but  is  also  a result  of  igneous  action  about  some  volcanoes, 
as  at  Vesuvius.  Many  of  the  geological  formations  contain  the  argilla- 
ceous variety  of  clay  iron  stone,  which  is  mostly  a marsh  formation,  or 
a deposit  over  the  bottom  of  shallow,  stagnant  water ; but  this  kind  of 
clay  iron  stone,  that  giving  a red  powder,  is  less  common  than  the  cor- 
responding variety  of  limonite.”  (Dana,  Edward  S.:  Text  Book  of  Min- 
eralogy, p.  335.) 

In  1899  there  was  mined  in  the  United  States  20,004,399 


*21st  Ann.  Rep.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  Part  VI,  Min.  Res.,  p.  33. 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


3 


long  tons  of  red  hematite,  which  is  81  per  cent,  of  all  the  iron 
ore  mined  in  the  United  States  that  year.* 

Limonite,  or  brown  hematite,  is  a hydrous  oxide  of  iron  hav- 
ing the  following  composition  : Limonite  (2  Fe203,  3 H20)  oxy- 
gen 25.7  per  cent.,  iron  59.8  per  cent.,  water  14.5  per  cent. 

This  ore  is  a secondary  product,  in  all  cases,  and  is  derived 
from  the  alteration  of  other  ores,  minerals  or  rocks  containing 
more  or  less  iron.  The  variety  known  as  bog  ore  is  the  most 
widely  distributed,  occurring  in  many  places  in  the  United 
States.  It  has  been  formed  in  marshy  places  and  has  been  car- 
ried in  solution,  by  streams,  into  these  places. 

This  ore  is  very  apt  to  contain  more  impurities,  such  as 
silica,  clay,  phosphates,  oxides  of  magnesium  and  other  sub- 
stances of  this  nature  than  magnetite  or  hematite.  Limonite  is 
distinguished  from  the  other  oxides  of  iron  by  its  brown  color 
when  finely  powdered. 

The  brown  hematites,  in  1899,  amounted  to  2,869,785  long 
tons,  or  1 1.6  per  cent,  of  all  the  iron  ores  mined  in  the  United 
States  for  that  year.f 

Siderite,  or  spathic  iron,  is  the  protocarbonate  of  iron  and  has 
the  following  composition:  Siderite  (Fe  C03)  carbon  dioxide 

37.9,  iron  protoxide  62.1,  metallic  iron  48.2  per  cent. 

The  spathic  ores  are  the  lowest  in  iron  of  all  and  are  least 
important,  as  shown  by  statistics  of  production  for  1899,  there 
being  only  81,559  long  tons  mined  or  .33  per  cent,  of  the  iron  ore 
produced  during  that  year.| 

The  following  table,  taken  from  the  Twenty-first  Annual 
Report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  Part  VI,  Mineral 
Resources,  page  35,  gives  the  amount  of  the  different  classes  of 
iron  ores  mined  in  the  United  States  for  eleven  years  from  1889 
to  1899,  inclusive,  with  the  per  cent,  of  each  class  for  the  eleven 
years  and  also  for  the  last  year  1899.  This  table  is  given  here 
for  comparison  and  shows  that  the  most  important  iron  ore  has 
not  been  found  in  Washington  in  anything  but  small  quantities 
up  to  the  present  time. 

* 21st  Ann.  Rep.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  Part  VI,  Min.  Res.,  p.  32. 

1 21st  Ann.  Rep.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  Part  VI,  Min.  Res.,  p.  33. 

$ 21st  Ann.  Rep.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  Part  VI,  Min.  Res.,  p 33. 


4 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


PRODUCTION  OF  IRON  ORES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  BY  CLASSES. 


Year. 

Red  hema- 
tite, long 
tons. 

Brown 
hematite, 
long  tons. 

Magnetite, 
long  tons. 

Carbon- 
ate, long 
tons. 

Total, 
long  tons. 

1889 

9,056,288 

2,523,087 

2,506,415 

432,251 

14,518, 041 

1890 

10,527,650 

2,559,938 

2,570,838 

377,617 

16,036,043 

1891 

9, 327, 398 

2,757,564 

2,317,108 

189,108 

14,591,178 

1892 

11,646,619 

2, 485, 101 

1, 971 , 965 

192,981 

16,296, 666 

1893 

8,272,637 

1,849,272 

1,330, 886 

134,834 

11,587, 629 

1894 

9,347,434 

1,472,748 

972,219 

87,278 

11,879, 679 

1895 

12,513,995 

2,102,358 

1,268,222 

73,039 

15,957,614 

18% 

12,576,288 

2,126,212 

1 1,211.526 

91,423 

16,005,449 

1897 

14,413,318 

1,961,954 

1,059,479 

83,295 

17,518,046 

1898 

16,150,684 

1,989,681 

1,237,978 

55,373 

19, 433, 716 

1899 

20,004,399 

2,869,785 

1,727,430 

81,559 

24,683,173 

Totals 

133,836,710 

24,697,  700 

18,174,066 

1,798, 758 

178,507, 234 

Percentages  of  totals 

for 

eleven  years  

75.00 

13.8 

10.2 

1.00 

100.00 

Percentages  of  total  for 

1899. 

81.04 

11.63 

7.0 

0.33 

100.00 

THE  RELATIVE  VALUES  OF  IRON  ORES. 

The  value  of  an  iron  ore  does  not  depend  entirely  upon  the 
amount  of  iron  it  contains,  but  upon  the  other  substances,  and 
amounts  of  them,  found  with  it.  The  most  common  injurious 
substances  are  phosphorus  and  sulphur.  There  are,  however,  a 
number  of  other  substances  that  occur  as  impurities,  such  as 
titanium,  silica,  alumina,  calcium,  and  magnesia.  These  latter, 
however,  can  hardly  be  considered  as  injurious  substances  in  the 
sense  of  injuring  the  pig  iron,  but  rather  as  lowering  the  per  cent, 
of  iron.  They  also  determine  the  fluxes  needed.  Sulphur  and 
phosphorus,  however,  act  in  an  entirely  different  way,  and  even 
a small  amount  of  either  of  these  injures  the  ore  for  a Bessemer 
pig  iron. 

Again  its  location  is  an  important  factor  in  determining  the 
value  of  an  iron  ore,  so  that  an  ore  may  be  quite  high  in  the  per 
cent,  of  iron  it  contains  and  still  not  be  of  any  value,  simply 
because  it  would  cost  too  much  to  get  it  to  market.  Then  again 
the  nearness  of  fuels  and  fluxes  come  in  to  regulate  its  value. 
Take  for  instance  Pennsylvania,  which  ranks  first  in  the  product 
of  pig  iron,  producing  in  1899,  6,558,878  long  tons,  or  about  one 
half  of  the  entire  product  of  the  United  States  for  that  year,  but 
which  ranks  fifth  in  the  production  of  iron  ore.  This  comes 
from  the  fact  that,  while  Pennsylvania  does  not  have  as  large 
deposits  of  iron  ore  as  some  of  the  other  states,  she  does  have 
very  extensive  beds  of  good  coal,  and  it  has  been  found  cheaper, 


Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Annual  Report.  1901.  Plate  XIX. 


FURNACE.  PACIFIC  STEEL  COMPANY,  IRONDALE. 


CHARCOAL  KILNS.  PACIFIC  STEEL  COMPANY.  IRONDALE. 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


5 


as  a general  thing  to  ship  the  ore  to  the  fuel  than  to  ship  the 
fuel  to  the  ore. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  IRON  MINING  AND  MANUFACTURE  IN 
WASHINGTON. 

The  first  furnace  for  the  manufacture  of  pig  iron  in  Wash- 
ington began  operation  in  the  fall  of  1880.  This  furnace  was 
located  at  Irondale  on  Port  Townsend  bay  about  four  miles 
south  of  the  city  of  Port  Townsend.  The  furnace  had  a daily 
capacity  of  ten  tons  and  was  a hot  blast  charcoal  furnace.  After 
being  operated  six  months  this  furnace  was  found  to  be  unsatis- 
factory, abandonded,  torn  down  and  a furnace  with  a capacity  of 
fifty  tons  daily  was  constructed  in  its  stead.  On  account  of  the 
very  refractory  nature  of  the  ore  being  used  this  new  furnace  did 
not  meet  expectations,  and  after  being  operated  for  several 
months  was  reconstructed  and  then  operated  very  successfully, 
as  far  as  the  grade  of  pig  iron  produced  was  concerned,  about 
six  months  each  year  until  1891,  when  the  furnace  was  closed 
down  permanently. 

The  Irondale  plant  was  first  built  for  the  purpose  of  using  a 
deposit  of  limonite  or  bog  ore  which  occurred  south  of  there  in 
the  Chimacum  valley,  but  the  iron  produced  was  found  to  be  of 
a rather  poor  quality  and  the  deposit  proved  to  be  very  limited 
in  quantity,  so  a magnetite  found  on  Texada  island,  a British 
island  situated  in  the  Straits  of  Georgia,  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  northwest  of  Port  Townsend,  was  mixed  with 
the  bog  ore.  It  was  found  that  a mixture  of  these  two  ores  pro- 
duced a very  high  grade  of  pig  iron,  but  owing  to  the  fact  that 
there  was  an  import  duty  of  seventy-five  cents  a ton  on  the  Tex- 
ada ore,  and  charcoal  being  expensive,  on  account  of  having 
nothing  but  soft  wood  from  which  to  make  it,  coke  twelve  dol- 
lars a ton,  labor  high,  and  the  price  of  iron  low,  it  was  found  to 
be  a losing  proposition,  and  it  is  claimed  that  every  day  the 
furnace  was  operated  it  was  at  a loss,  and  hence  in  1891  it  was 
closed  down  and  had  been  allowed  to  go  to  decay  until  March, 
1901,  when  Pennsylvania  capital  became  interested  in  the  mat- 
ter and  what  is  known  as  the  Pacific  Steel  Company  was  formed 
and  obtained  control  of  the  old  Irondale  plant  for  a considera- 
tion of  #45,000.  This  new  company  immediately  began  the 
work  of  putting  the  plant  in  first  class  condition  again  and  have 


6 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


expended  about  $100,000  on  the  property.  December  15,  1901, 
the  plant  was  again  put  in  operation. 

The  new  plant  has  a stack  60  feet  high,  12  feet  in  the  bosh, 
6 feet  on  the  crucible,  and  a capacity  of  about  50  tons  a da}7. 
The  power  to  drive  the  machinery  for  hoisting  and  crushing  the 
ore  will  be  furnished  by  a battery  of  four  steam  boilers,  while 
large  blowing  engines  will  furnish  the  blast  for  the  furnace. 

At  the  present  time  ores  from  Texada  island  and  from  Ham- 
ilton, Skagit  county,  are  being  used.  These  two  grades  of  ore 
are  mixed  in  the  proportion  of  700  tons  of  Texada  ore  to  50  tons 
of  Hamilton  ore  or  about  93  per  cent.  Texada  and  7 per  cent. 
Hamilton.  The  principal  flux  used  is  limestone  from  the  Roche 
Harbor  lime  works.  The  following  analysis  shows  the  compo- 
sition of  this  limestone:  Calcium  carbonate,  98.32  per  cent.; 
iron  and  alumina,  1.13  per  cent.;  silica,  .44  percent.;  phosphor- 
ous, .11  per  cent.  In  addition  to  the  limestone  a small  amount 
of  sand  is  used. 

A little  coke  from  Cokedale  has  been  used,  but  the  principal 
fuel  is  charcoal,  and  this  is  produced  by  the  company’s  own 
charcoal  plant  on  the  premises.  There  are,  for  the  burning  of 
this  charcoal,  twenty  kilns  each  30  feet  high  and  30  feet  in  diam- 
eter at  the  base  and  holding  75  cords  of  wood  each. 

These  twenty  kilns  will  burn  180  cords  of  wood  a day  and 
have  a total  capacity  of  180,000  bushels  of  charcoal  per  month. 
A sawmill  and  splitting-machine  have  been  installed,  so  that  the 
company  now  buys  the  logs  and  makes  its  own  cordwood  at  the 
works.  Machinery  is  being  installed  also  for  conveying  auto- 
matically the  wood  to  the  kilns. 

The  ores  from  Texada  island  and  from  Hamilton  are  loaded 
on  scows,  transported  to  the  plant  and  dumped  into  the  bunkers. 
From  the  bunkers  the  Texada  ore  is  hauled  in  small  cars  into 
the  yard,  where  it  is  arranged  in  large  heaps  and  roasted  to  get 
rid  of  sulphur  and  also  to  make  it  more  easy  to  reduce  in  the 
furnace.  Castings  are  made  three  times  a day ; that  is,  every 
eight  hours.  The  pig  iron  at  present  is  sold  to  the  various 
foundries  around  Puget  sound,  Oregon  and  British  Columbia. 
The  company,  however,  expects  in  the  near  future  to  ship  to 
San  Francisco. 

The  old  plant  when  in  full  operation  employed  altogether,  in 
the  mines,  cutting  wood  and  burning  charcoal,  and  at  the  fur- 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington . 


7 


nace,  about  250  men.  The  new  plant  will  employ  directly  and 
indirectly  about  300  men. 

There  are  a number  of  places  in  the  state  where  considerable 
development  work  has  been  done,  but  the  bog  ores  at  Irondale 
are  the  only  ones  from  which  iron  has  been  produced.  From 
1889  to  1892,  inclusive,  development  work  was  quite  vigorously 
pushed  in  the  Clealum  district  in  Kittitas  county  by  a Scotch 
company  who  were  contemplating  the  building  of  an  extensive 
plant  at  Kirkland,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Washington,  but  for 
some  unknown  reason  work  was  stopped  in  1892,  and  nothing 
has  been  done  since. 

In  1881  Mr.  F.  M.  Guye  discovered  and  located  iron  mines 
in  the  Cascade  mountains,  one  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of 
Snoqualmie  pass  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Snoqualmie  river. 
Soon  after  this  he  also  found  another  deposit  about  six  miles 
northeast  of  North  Bend,  the  present  terminus  of  the  Snoqual- 
mie branch  of  the  Seattle  & International  Railroad. 

Other  properties  have  been  located  in  the  Snoqualmie  pass 
district  and  some  development  work  done,  but  at  the  present 
time  (1901)  nothing  is  being  done  toward  developing  any  of 
these  properties. 

About  1881  iron  ore  was  discovered  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Conner,  in 
Skagit  county,  near  Hamilton  on  the  Skagit  river.  Since  that 
time  these  same  deposits  have  been  traced,  and  locations  made, 
for  several  miles  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Skagit  river  above 
Hamilton,  and  the  ores  occurring  near  Marble  Mount  are  prob- 
ably a continuation  of  these  same  Hamilton  ores.  Considerable 
development  work  has  been  done  on  some  of  the  properties  in 
this  district,  but  no  very  great  depth  has  been  reached. 

In  1881  two  tons  of  the  iron  ore  from  the  Hamilton  district 
were  sent  to  Tacoma  and  tests  were  made  at  the  smelter  there, 
and  a company  formed  to  build  a plant  at  that  place.  In  1887 
twenty  tons  were  tested  at  Irondale.  This  ore  was  sent  by  J.  J. 
Conner,  of  Hamilton. 

About  eleven  miles  northwest  of  Hoodsport  in  Mason  county, 
a number  of  iron  mines  have  been  located  and  some  develop- 
ment work  done. 

In  Stevens  county  iron  ores  occur  near  Colville  and  Valley, 
each  of  which  is  on  the  Spokane  Falls  & Northern  Railroad.  At 
one  time  the  deposits  near  Valley  were  being  worked  and  the  ore 


8 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


shipped  to  Tacoma  to  be  used  as  a flux  in  the  smelter  located 
there. 

THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  IRON  ORES  IN  WASHINGTON. 

Iron  ore  occurs  in  many  places  in  the  state  of  Washington, 
but  only  in  a few  places  is  there  any  prospect  of  the  known  de- 
posits ever  being  utilized  for  the  manufacture  of  iron.  There 
may,  however,  be  many  mines  located  in  the  future  that  we 
know  nothing  about  at  present,  as  there  is  a large  part  of  the 
state  that  has  not  been  very  thoroughly  prospected  as  yet,  and 
for  that  reason  we  do  not  know  what  we  may  have  in  the  way  of 
iron  ore. 

The  principal  known  deposits  are  in  the  following  counties ; 
Skagit,  King,  Kittitas,  Stevens,  and  Mason. 

Bog  ores  are  found  in  a number  of  places  in  the  following 
counties ; Whatcom,  Clallam,  Spokane,  Whitman,  Thurston, 
and  Jefferson. 


ANALYSES  OF  WASHINGTON  IRON  ORES. 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


9 


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ANALYSES  OF  WASHIGTON  IRON  ORES  — CONCLUDED. 


10 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey , 


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The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


11 


THE  CHARACTER  AND  COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  THE 
IRON  ORES  OF  WASHINGTON. 

VARIETIES  OF  ORES. 

The  iron  ores  of  Washington  are  magnetites,  hematites, 
limonites,  or  hydrous  sesquioxide  of  iron,  known  commercially 
as  brown  hematite,  and  mixtures  of  hematite  and  magnetite. 
The  Snoqualmie  pass  ores  are  the  only  true  magnetites  while  the 
Clealum,  Hamilton  and  a part  of  the  Stevens  county  ores  are 
mixtures  of  magnetite  and  hematite.  The  Jefferson  county  ores, 
and  part  of  the  Stevens  county  ores,  are  limonites  or  bog  ores. 
In  several  other  places  in  the  state  the  bog  ores  have  been  found 
in  small  quantities  but  they  are  of  no  commercial  importance. 
The  iron  ore  in  Mason  county  is  quite  largely  a hematite  but 
most  of  it  is  of  very  little  commercial  value.  In  the  Clealum 
district  there  is  some  quite  strong  lodestone  ore. 

COMMERCIAL  VALUES. 

One  of  the  most  important  questions  in  connection  with  the 
commercial  value  of  an  iron  ore  is  whether  or  not  it  is  suited  for 
the  manufacture  of  Bessemer  steel.  This  point  is  determined 
quite  largely  by  the  amount  of  phosphorus  the  ore  contains,  and 
the  extreme  limit  has  been  placed  at  .05  per  cent,  for  an  ore 
that  contains  50  per  cent,  of  iron.  While  it  is  true  that  perhaps 
the  question  of  the  amount  of  phosphorus  is  one  of  the  most 
important  ones,  it  is  necessary,  of  course,  that  the  ore  should 
have  iron  enough  to  make  it  profitable  to  work  it  and  that  the 
amount  of  silica,  sulphur,  and  other  impurities  must  be  small 
enough  so  as  not  to  injure  it.  The  amount,  however,  of  sulphur 
or  silica  allowable  in  a Bessemer  ore  is  considerable  more  than 
that  of  phosphorus.  It  will  be  found  by  examination  of  the 
table,  given  on  a following  page,  of  analyses  of  ores  from  some 
of  the  different  mines  in  the  United  States  and  Cuba  that  most 
of  the  ores  are  non-Bessemer  ores.  These  ores,  however,  are 
used  for  making  the  commoner  grades  of  iron  but  would  not 
bring  so  high  a price  in  the  market  as  the  Bessemer  ores. 

The  accompanying  table  of  analyses  of  Washington  iron  ores 
shows  that  they  range  in  phosphorus  from  nothing  to  1.09  per 
cent.  As  far  as  the  per  cent,  of  phosphorus  is  concerned  a 
few  of  them,  as  far  as  other  impurities  also  are  concerned,  would 


2— IV 


12  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey . 


be  classed  as  Bessemer  ores,  but  the  larger  part  would  be  non- 
Bessemer.  In  some  cases  where  the  silica  is  within  the 
Bessemer  limit  there  is  quite  a large  amount  of  alumina  and  that 
in  connection  with  the  silica  would  probably  exclude  those  ores 
from  the  Bessemer  class.  Some  of  the  ores  contain  a high  per 
cent,  of  manganese  and  quite  a number  of  them  have  from  7 
percent,  to  14.28  per  cent.,  while  in  one  instance  as  high  as  42.58 
per  cent,  was  obtained  so  that  some  of  these  might  be  valuable 
for  the  manganese  they  contain,  provided  they  occur  in  anything 
like  large  bodies. 

As  regards  their  per  cent,  of  iron  the  Washington  ores  range 
from  28.48  to  68.54  Per  cent.  In  taking  the  samples  for  anlyses 
the  intention  was  to  get  average  samples,  but  as  on  all  the  proper- 
ties,with  one  or  two  exceptions,  very  little  work  has  been  done,  it 
was  a difficult  matter  to  sample  systematically  and  I presume 
the  analyses  show  the  per  cent,  of  iron  to  be  a little  above  the 
average  of  the  whole  deposits.  The  analyses  show  that  with 
the  exception  of  a few  samples  from  one  particular  locality,  and 
which  were  known  to  be  of  no  value  as  iron  ores  before  the 
analyses  were  made,  that  very  few  of  the  ores  have  less  than  35 
per  cent,  of  iron  and  quite  a good  many  of  them  have  from  40  to 
60  per  cent. 

In  their  contents  of  silica  the  Washington  ores  have  as  wide 
a range  as  they  have  in  their  contents  of  iron.  The  table  of 
analyses  shows  the  silica  to  range  from  a little  less  than  2 to  a 
little  less  than  33  per  cent.  The  amount  of  silica  allowable  in  an 
iron  ore  is  determined  somewhat,  of  course,  by  the  amount  of  iron 
the  ore  contains  but  in  a general  way  1 5 per  cent,  is  given  as 
about  the  limit.  The  analyses  show  that  quite  a good  many  of 
the  Washington  ores  contain  less  than  15  percent,  of  silica  while 
there  are  a number  of  them  that  contain  more  than  15  per  cent, 
of  silica.  A mixture  of  these  two  grades  might  be  made  in  such 
proportions  as  to  keep  the  silica  below  the  limit  and  in  this  way 
considerable  at  least  of  the  ore  high  in  silica  might  be  used. 

In  their  contents  of  sulphur  the  Washington  ores  range  from 
nothing  to  .42  per  cent.,  which  is  really  quite  low  and  in  fact 
much  lower  than  that  of  many  other  ores  that  find  a ready  market. 

As  shown  by  the  analyses  a number  of  the  Washington  ores 
contain  a large  per  cent,  of  alumina  ranging  from  practically 
none  to  as  high  as  14.23  per  cent.  This  large  amount  of 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


13 


alumina  in  an  iron  ore  is  very  uncommon  and  so  much  of  it  would 
be  injurious  to  the  ore. 

SUMMARY. 

The  above  facts  show  the  iron  ores  of  Washington,  as  far  as 
their  commercial  value  is  concerned,  to  be  principally  non- 
Bessemer,  but  a few  of  them  are  Bessemer  in  qualitity.  In  iron 
they  vary  from  28.48  to  68.54  Per  cent.;  in  silica  they  vary  from 
2 to  33  per  cent.;  in  alumina  some  of  them  run  as  high  as  14.23 
per  cent.;  in  sulphur  they  are  usually  low;  a few  of  them  contain 
considerable  manganese.  The  alumina  and  silica  would  have 
about  the  same  effect  or  require  about  the  same  treatment,  and 
taking  the  two  together  in  some  of  the  ores  the  per  cent,  would 
be  very  high. 

The  following  table,  taken  from  Vol.  1 of  the  Annual  Report 
of  the  Arkansas  Geological  Survey  for  1892,  p.  15,  comprising  a 
number  of  analyses  of  iron  ores  from  well  know  mines  in  the 
United  States  and  Cuba,  is  given  for  comparison  with  the 
analyses  of  Washington  ores: 


ANALYSES  OF  IRON  ORES  OF  VARIOUS  MINES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CUBA. 


14  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Sulphur 

0.548 

0.05 

2.527 

0.059 

0.529 

0.071 

2.531 

2.459 

0.352 

0.056 

0.128 

0.128 

0.227 

0.066 

0.139 

0.318 

0.139 

0.020 

0.037 

0.043 

Trace. 

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The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington, 


15 


16 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


THE  IRON  MINING  POSSIBILITIES  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Conditions  Necessary  for  Profitable  Iron  Mining. 

As  already  stated,  the  value  of  an  iron  ore  deposit  depends 
not  alone  upon  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  ore,  but  also 
upon  its  position  as  regards  fuel,  fluxes,  transportation  and 
markets,  as  well  as  facilities  for  mining. 

Conditions  in  Skagit  County. 

In  Skagit  county  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Skagit  river, 
from  Hamilton  to  Marble  Mount,  occur  deposits  of  iron  ore 
which  are  very  favorably  situated  as  far  as  fuel,  fluxes  and  trans- 
portation are  concerned.  The  Seattle  & Northern  Railroad  is 
built  as  far  as  Hamilton  and  could  easily  be  extended  if  it  were 
necessary. 

There  are  five  different  veins  or  ore  bodies  in  this  district, 
ranging  in  thickness  from  6 to  50  feet,  and  dipping  to  the  south 
and  a little  to  the  west  at  an  angle  of  55  degrees. 

The  conditions  for  mining  in  this  district  are  very  favorable, 
as  a large  body  of  the  ore  occurs  high  up  the  mountain  some 
distance  above  the  river,  so  that  a tunnel  could  be  put  in  from 
down  near  the  river  and  a large  body  of  the  ore  mined  at  a min- 
imum expense. 

Just  above  the  iron  ore  occurs  coal  which  is  said  to  be  of 
coking  quality  and  in  large  quantities,  but  at  present  (1901) 
nothing  is  being  done  to  develop  these  deposits.  About  12 
miles  west  of  Hamilton,  at  Cokedale,  deposits  of  good  coking 
coal  occur  and  the  coke  from  here  could  be  used  in  connection 
with  the  Hamilton  ores  should  it  be  found  on  further  investiga- 
tion that  the  Hamilton  coals  are  not  coking  coals. 

Limestone  suitable  for  fluxes  are  found  in  close  proximity  to 
the  iron  ores  of  this  locality,  and  a few  miles  east  of  Hamilton 
large  quantities  of  limestone  occur. 

Conditions  in  Kittitas  County. 

The  iron  deposits  of  Kittitas  county  are  situated  about  twenty 
miles  north  and  a little  west  of  Clealum  on  the  Clealum  river,  a 
tributary  of  the  Yakima  river,  in  the  eastern  spurs  of  the  Cas- 
cade range.  This  district  is  reached  by  wagon  road  from 
Roslyn,  the  present  terminus  of  a short  branch  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad,  up  the  valley  and  canyon  of  the  Clealum  river. 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


17 


As  given  by  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Roslyn  has  an  eleva- 
tion of  2,273  feet  above  sea  level,  and  the  Clealum  valley,  where 
the  iron  ores  occur,  has  an  elevation  of  2,800  to  3,000  feet  above 
sea  level.  For  about  17  miles  of  this  distance  from  Roslyn,  or  to 
the  Salmon  Lasac  river,  the  valley  has  an  average  grade  of  about 
20  feet  to  the  mile,  but  for  the  rest  of  the  distance  above  there, 
to  where  the  iron  occurs,  the  grade  is  much  steeper  and  the 
canyon  narrower.  On  the  west  side  of  the  valley,  opposite  the 
iron-ore  deposits,  the  mountains  rise  very  abruptly  to  an  alti- 
tude of  about  6,670  feet  above  the  sea,  or  3,670  to  3,870  feet 
above  the  valley;  on  the  east  the  slope  is  much  more  gradual. 

Conditions  in  King  County. 

In  King  county  magnetite  occurs  in  the  Cascade  mountains 
at  a distance  of  about  two  and  one-half  or  three  miles  north  and 
a little  west  of  Snoqualmie  pass.  These  ores  are  about  twenty- 
eight  miles  from  North  Bend,  and  about  fourteen  miles  from 
Martin,  a station  on  the  main  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
road, on  the  east  side  of  the  summit  of  the  Cascade  mountains. 
The  state  wagon  road  from  North  Bend  through  Snoqualmie 
pass  passes  within  about  two  and  one-half  miles  of  these  de- 
posits, and  the  Seattle  & International  Railroad  has  been  located 
through  this  pass,  but  at  present  is  built  only  as  far  as  North 
Bend. 

The  ore  in  this  district  is  not  difficult  of  access,  but  it  would 
have  to  be  shipped  by  rail  to  some  point  where  fuel  is  conveni- 
ent, as  there  is  no  coal  in  that  locality. 

Conditions  in  Stevens  County. 

In  Stevens  county  iron-ore  deposits  occur  in  two  or  three 
localities,  which  have  been  worked  and  the  ore  shipped  to  the 
Tacoma  smelter  and  used  as  a flux,  but  they  have  not  been  used 
for  the  production  of  iron. 

Twenty  miles  north  and  a little  east  of  Colville,  on  the  head 
waters  of  Clugston  creek  are  a number  of  mines  which  have 
been  located  as  iron  properties,  and  considerable  work  has  been 
done  in  developing  one  of  these  locations,  and  a wagon  road  has 
been  built  to  the  property. 

Eleven  miles  west  and  a little  south  of  Valley,  a station  on 
the  Spokane  Falls  & Northern  Railway,  is  situated  another  body 
of  iron  ore  and  some  mining  has  been  done  here.  This  district  is 


18 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


reached  by  a trail,  which  leaves  the  United  States  Marble  Com- 
pany’s wagon  road  about  two  miles  from  their  quarry. 

About  two  miles  east  of  Valley  are  some  more  iron  deposits, 
and  these  are  very  easy  of  access.  These  deposits  were  worked 
for  several  years  on  a small  scale  and  the  ore  was  brought  by 
teams  to  Valley  and  shipped  to  Tacoma  and  used  as  a flux,  but 
at  present  nothing  is  being  done  with  these  deposits. 

The  iron  ores  of  Stevens  county  are  all  easy  of  access  and 
the  localities  in  which  the  iron  occurs  are  well  supplied  with 
material  for  fluxes  but  lack  fuel,  hence  the  ore  would  probably 
have  to  be  transported  to  some  other  locality  in  order  to  utilize  it. 


Conditions  in  Mason  County, 

About  eleven  miles  northwest  of  Hoodsport,  in  Mason  county, 
are  deposits  on  which  a number  of  locations  have  been  made  for 
iron.  Hoodsport  is  a small  town  situated  near  the  southern  end 
of  Hood’s  canal,  and  from  this  point  to  the  iron  deposits  there 
is  a good  wagon  road  and  a railway  could  easily  be  built  if  there 
was  a demand  for  it.  These  deposits  are  about  four  miles  above 
the  upper  end  of  Lake  Cushman,  on  Boulder  creek,  about  two 
hundred  yards  above  where  it  empties  into  the  Skokomish  river. 
The  country  around  Lake  Cushman  is  very  rough  and  moun- 
tainous. The  mountain  in  which  the  iron  ore  occurs  reaches  an 
altitude  of  about  five  thousand  feet  above  sea  level  and  is  quite 
steep.  The  ore  in  this  district,  if  ever  used,  would  have  to  be 
shipped  to  some  other  locality,  as  there  is  neither  fuel  nor  fluxes 
to  be  found  in  connection  with  these  deposits. 


LAKE  CUSHMAN  DISTRICT. 

ANALYSES  OF  IRON  ORES  FROM  LAKE  CUSHMAN,  MASON  COUNTY. 


No. 


Mine. 


1. 

2 

3 

4. 


Iron. 

Insoluble 
residue 

Phosphoric 
acid  (Pa06).. 

Alumina 
(A1203) 

S 

C;p 

23 

« g 
Og 

35 

Yo 

: 

Calcium 
(CaCOa) 

Analyst 

16.34 

1 24.20 

.13 

8.00 

27.14 

11.28 

Fulmer. 

19.25 

! 70.50 

, Trace 

.65 

.32 

1.13 

44 

4.13 

: 19.04 

1 .21 

' 6.91 

42.58 

6.00 

44 

10.66 

27.39 

.16 

2.33 

5.18 

49.16 

;; 

10.20 

! 11.64 

.16 

1.24 

1.58 

70.34 

:: 

13.76 

29.35 

.20 

! 1 

j 4.18 

36.91 

The  above  analyses  were  made  from  what  are  thought  to  be 
fair  samples  of  the  deposits  being  prospected  in  this  locality  for 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


19 


iron.  The  analyses  show  that  so  far  as  iron  is  concerned  the 
deposits  have  no  value  whatever.  Number  one  and  number 
three  have  considerable  manganese  and  if  they  should  be  found 
in  large  quantities  might  be  valuable  on  that  account. 


BLACK  HILLS. 

ANALYSES  OF  IRON  ORES  FROM  THE  BLACK  HILLS,  CHEHALIS 

COUNTY. 


The  above  analyses  are  from  samples  of  float  found  in  the 
Black  hills  and  no  ledges  have  been  found  as  yet.  Number 
eight  has  a fair  per  cent,  of  iron,  but  it  also  carries  considerable 
titanium,  and  this  would  tend  to  injure  it  for  the  manufacture  of 
iron.  The  samples  were  given  me  by  parties  in  Olympia,  and  I 
know  nothing  about  the  conditions  under  which  they  were  found. 
Numbers  eight  and  nine  looked  as  if  they  were  nodules  of  con- 
solidated black  sand. 

HAMILTON  DISTRICT. 

ANALYSES  OF  IRON  ORES  FROM  THE  HAMILTON  DISTRICT,  SKAGIT 

COUNTY. 


No. 

Mine. 

w 

S’ 

so 

Ui 

O 

to 

o 

P 

CD 

to 

o 

ca 

Alumina 
(A1203) 

Phosphorus 
(P2O5)  

Sulphur 

Iron 

gP 

Og 

Vj 

T® 

Calcium 
(CaC03) 

Analyst. 

11.. 

Inaugural 

19.98 

62.70 

3.30 

.25 

43.89 

12.30 

3.98 

Thatcher. 

12.. 

i Hamilton  

30.53 

45.92 

7.25 

.72 

.06 

32.14 

11.74 

5.82 

13. . 

Hamilton  

20.24 

52.46 

7.40 

Trace 

36.72 

13.04 

9.77 

u 

14.. 

1 Inaugural  

31.82 

44.40 

6.79 

.41 

Trace 

31.08 

14.28 

5.83 

15.. 

Hamilton  

32.94 

48.40 

2.57 

2.43 

.16 

33.88 

7.31 

8.81 

“ 

16. . 

! Inaugural  

18.36 

62.73 

3.09 

1.58 

43.91 

12.00 

8.92 

‘4 

17.. 

Treadwell 

22.85 

62  46 

3.17 

1.00 

43.72 

8.08 

3.78 

ii 

18.. 

Pittsburg 

28.05 

47.03 

8.43 

.70 

32.92 

8.11 

8.06 

it 

19. . 

1 Pittsburg 

32.46 

41  59 

8.56 

.45 

29.11 

13  11 

1 6.71 

U 

THE  LOCATION  AND  MODE  OF  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  ORE. 

The  iron  ore  deposits  in  the  Hamilton  district  occur  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Skagit  river  at  Hamilton,  in  the  western  spurs 


20  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


of  the  Cascade  range,  about  twenty-five  miles  above  the  mouth 
of  the  river.  Deposits  have  been  found  as  far  up  the  river  as 
Marble  Mount,  which  is  about  twenty-five  miles  above  Hamilton. 
The  Hamilton  deposits  may  be  reached  by  the  Seattle  & North- 
ern Railroad  and  are  about  fifty  miles,  by  rail,  from  the  tide 
water  at  Anacortes,  or  about  twenty-five  by  boat  by  the  way  of 
the  Skagit  river.  At  Hamilton,  where  the  iron  deposits  occur, 
the  valley  has  an  altitude,  as  given  by  the  U.  S.  Geological  Sur- 
vey, of  94.56  feet  above  sea  level,  and  at  Marblemount,  the 
point  farthest  up  the  river  where  the  iron  is  known  to  occur,  an 
elevation  of  312.96  feet,  making  a grade  for  the  valley  from 
Hamilton  to  Marblemount  of  nine  feet  to  the  mile. 

At  Hamilton,  the  mountains  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley 
rise  abruptly  from  the  river  to  an  altitude  above  sea  level  of 
about  3,000  feet,  while  on  the  north  side  of  the  valley  the  ascent 
is  more  gradual.  The  country  rock  through  this  locality  is 
sandstone,  limestone,  shales  and  slates.  The  iron  ore  occurs  in 
the  slates  and  lies  parallel  with  the  bedding. 

Occurring  in  connection  with  the  iron  in  this  district,  espe- 
cially across  the  river  from  Hamilton,  and  lying  above  it  are  at 
least  four  seams  of  what  is  said  to  be  a good  grade  of  coal. 
Some  work  has  been  done  on  this  coal,  but  for  some  reason  it 
has  been  stopped  and  at  present  nothing  is  being  done.  The 
first  vein  is  from  1,000  to  1,200  feet  above  the  iron  ore,  and  has  a 
thickness  of  from  8 to  10  feet  of  coal  with  three  streaks  of  boney 
matter  from  1 to  4 inches  in  thickness.  Just  below  the  coal  is 
about  300  feet  of  sandstone,  and  then  comes  the  slates  in  which 
the  iron  occurs.  The  second  vein  occurs  about  100  feet  above 
the  first  and  has  6 feet  of  coal  comparatively  free  from  dirt. 
The  formation  between  the  two  seams  of  coal  is  a gray  sand- 
stone with  4 feet  of  fire  clay  just  below  the  upper  vein  of  coal. 
From  the  second  vein  of  coal  to  the  third  is  1,100  feet  of  gray 
sandstone.  Number  3 is  3 feet  thick  and  contains  no  dirt. 
Vein  number  4 is  1,200  feet  above  3,  and  the  formation  between 
the  two  is  sandstone. 

EXTENT  OF  IRON  DEPOSITS. 

Outcrops  of  iron-ore  appear  at  intervals  along  the  valley  from 
Hamilton  to  Marblemount,  a distance  of  about  twenty-five  miles. 
While  the  deposits  have  been  found  in  a number  or  places  along 


Washington  Geological  Survey; 


Annual  Report.  1901.  Plate  XX. 


INAUGURAL  IRON  MINE.  NEAR  HAMILTON. 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


21 


the  trend  there  has  not  been  work  enough  done  to  tell  definitely 
just  what  the  relations  of  the  different  outcrops  are  to  each  other, 
but  I am  inclined  to  think  they  are  lenses  rather  than  veins  and 
probably  not  continuous  between  the  outcrops.  The  ore  bodies 
vary  in  thickness  from  a few  feet  to  30  feet.  From  Hamilton  to 
Birdsview,  a distance  of  six  miles,  the  iron  ores  appear  at  inter- 
vals on  the  south  side  of  the  Skagit  river  in  five  lines,  one  above 
the  other,  while  at  Marblemount  only  two  lines  of  outcrops  have 
been  found  so  far.  These  outcrops  trend  approximately  east  and 
west  and  have  a dip  to  the  southwest  of  about  55  degrees. 

CHARACTER  AND  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  HAMILTON  ORES. 

The  Hamilton  ores  are  dark  colored,  massive  appearing  ores, 
having  a medium  specific  gravity,  for  an  iron  ore,  and  when 
powdered  some  of  them  have  somewhat  of  a reddish  appearance, 
while  others  have  a very  dark,  almost  black  appearance.  The 
ores  are  all  more  or  less  magnetic.  The  reddish  cast  to  the 
powder,  however,  shows  that  they  contain  some  hematite.  In 
places,  as  for  instance  in  the  tunnel  on  the  Inaugural  claim,  the 
iron  is  found  to  be  intimately  mixed  with  a very  white  granular 
quartz,  but  most  of  the  ore  in  the  district  seems  to  be  free  from 
this. 

The  following  analysis,  by  R.  W.  Thatcher,  shows  the  com- 
position of  the  iron  ore  from  the  tunnel  on  the  Inaugural  mine, 
Hamilton  district,  Skagit  county : 

Per  cent. 


Iron 43.89 

Silica 19.98 

Phosphorus 11 

Sulphur 

Alumina  (A120 3 ) 3.30 

Manganese  (Mn304> 12.30 

Calcium  ( CaCO  3 ) 3.98 


A tunnel  has  been  driven  into  the  side  of  the  mountain  a dis- 
tance of  approximately  50  feet,  to  tap  the  iron  ore  on  the  Inaug- 
ural mine,  and  the  sample  from  which  the  above  analysis  was 
made  was  taken  from  the  face  of  that  tunnel.  In  this  tunnel,  in 
places,  the  iron  is  intimately  mixed  with  a very  fine,  white, 
granular  quartz,  such  as  was  not  found  in  any  other  place.  The 
analysis  shows  the  ore  to  be  a little  low  in  iron,  somewhat  high 
in  silica,  and  quite  a good  per  cent,  of  manganese,  in  fact 
enough  to  make  a fair  grade  of  spiegeleisen. 


22 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


The  following  analysis,  by  R.  W.  Thatcher,  shows  the  com- 
position of  the  ore  from  the  Hamilton  mine  : 

Per  cent. 


Iron 32.14 

Silica 30.53 

Phosphorus 72 

Sulphur 06 

Alumina  ( AI2O3  ) 7.25 

Manganese  (Mn304) , 11.74 

Calcium  (CaCO 3 ) : 5.82 


This  is  an  average  sample  from  this  mine  and  is  thought  to 
show  fairly  well  the  character  of  the  ore  taken  as  a whole.  The 
analysis  shows  the  ore  to  be  low  in  iron,  very  high  in  silica  and 
phosphorus,  with  some  alumina  and  quite  a high  per  cent,  of 
manganese.  The  ore,  however,  taken  by  itself,  would  not  be  a 
very  valuable  one  from  which  to  manufacture  iron. 

The  following  analysis,  by  R.  W.  Thatcher,  shows  the  com- 
position of  the  ore  from  the  Hamilton  mine,  near  the  middle  of 
the  vein  : 

Per  cent. 


Iron 36.72 

Silica 20.24 

Phosphorus Trace 

Sulphur 

Alumina  (A1203) 7.40 

Manganese  (Mn304> 13.04 

Calcium  (CaCO 3 ) 9.77 


The  ore  in  the  Hamilton  mine  is  of  two  grades,  that  in  the 
central  part  of  the  ore  body  being  a little  better  ore  than  that 
near  the  outer  part.  In  the  particular  places  where  the  open- 
ings have  been  made,  there  is  about  18  inches  of  this  better 
grade  of  ore.  The  above  analysis  shows  the  ore  to  be  low  in 
iron,  high  in  silica  and  manganese,  with  considerable  alumina 
and  calcium.  The  amount  of  manganese  in  this  ore  would,  per- 
haps, make  it  of  value  for  producing  spiegeleisen. 

The  following  analysis,  by  R.  W.  Thatcher,  shows  the  com- 
position of  the  ore  from  the  surface  of  the  Inaugural  mine.  : 

Per  cent. 


Iron 31.08 

Silica 31.82 

Phosphorus 18 

Sulphur 

Alumina  (A1203) 6.79 

Manganese  (Mn304> 14.28 

Calcium  (CaCO  3 ) 5.82 


The  ore  from  which  the  above  analysis  was  made  came  from 
the  surface  and  shows  the  fact  that  the  ore,  in  this  particular  de- 
posit at  least,  has  increased  in  iron  with  depth  while  it  has  de- 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington . 


23 


creased  in  silica,  alumina,  manganese,  calcium  and  phosphorus. 
This  sample  is  low  in  iron,  high  in  silica,  manganese  and  phos- 
phorus. The  per  cent,  of  manganese  is  high  enough  to  make  a 
fair  grade  of  spiegeleisen. 

The  following  analysis  by  R.  W.  Thatcher  shows  the  compo- 
sition of  the  ore  from  near  the  wall  of  the  Hamilton  mine: 

Per  cent 


Iron 33.88 

Silica 32.94 

Phosphorus 1.06 

Sulphur 16 

Alumina  (A1203) 2.57 

Manganese  (Mn3C>4) 7.81 

Calcium  (CaC03) 8.81 


The  sample  from  which  the  above  analysis  was  made  is  the 
poorer  grade  of  ore  from  the  Hamilton  mine  and,  as  the  analysis 
shows,  it  contains  less  iron,  manganese,  alumina  and  calcium 
and  more  silica,  phosphorus  and  sulphur.  The  per  cents,  of 
phosphorus,  sulphur  and  silica  are  so  high  that  they  preclude  its 
being  classed  as  a Bessemer  ore.  It  might,  however,  be  used  in 
connection  with  a better  grade  of  iron  ore,  such  as  the  Snoqual- 
mie  pass  ore,  and  make  a good  pig  iron. 

The  following  analysis  by  R.  W.  Thatcher  shows  the  compo- 
sition of  the  ore  from  the  shaft  of  the  Inaugural  mine: 

Per  cent. 


Iron <, 43.91 

Silica 18.36 

Phosphorus 69 

Sulphur 

Alumina  (A1203) 3.09 

Manganese  (Mn3C>4) 12.00 

Calcium  (CaC03)  8.92 


The  sample  from  which  the  above  analysis  was  made  was 
taken  from  a shaft  that  has  been  sunk  to  the  depth  of  85  feet 
on  this  property,  and  shows  the  character  of  the  ore  at  that  depth. 
The  ore  is  not  very  high  in  iron  but  contains  a high  per  cent,  of 
silica,  phosphorus,  and  manganese.  In  some  cases,  however, 
ores  having  a lower  per  cent.,  even,  of  iron  than  this  one  has 
are  used. 

The  following  analysis  by  R.  W.  Thatcher  shows  the  com- 
position of  the  ore  from  the  Treadwell  mine. 

Per  cent. 


Iron 48.72 

Silica 22.85 

Phosphorus 44 

Sulphur 

Alumina  (Al2Ot)  3.17 

Manganese  (Mn3Oi) 8.08 

Calcium  (CaCOg)  3.78 


24 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


The  Treadwell  mine  is  located  near  Marblemount,  which  is 
twenty- five  miles  above  Hamilton  on  the  Skagit  river,  and  the 
ore  is  about  the  same  grade  as  that  at  Hamilton.  This  particu- 
lar sample  shows  the  per  cent,  of  iron  to  be  a little  low,  with  a 
high  per  cent  of  silica,  phosphorus  and  manganese. 

The  following  analysis  by  R.  W.  Thatcher  shows  the  com- 
position of  the  ore  from  the  Pittsburg  mine. 

Per  cent. 


Iron 32.92 

Silica 28.05 

Phosphorus 31 

Sulphur 

Alumina  (AI2O3) 8 43 

Manganese  (Mn304>  8.11 

Calcium  (CaC03)  8.06 


The  sample  from  which  the  above  analysis  was  made  came 
from  the  ore  body  which  is  situated  lowest  down  on  the  hill  and 
shows  the  ore  to  be  of  a very  poor  quality,  being  low  in  iron, 
high  in  silica  and  phosphorus. 

The  following  analysis  by  R.  W.  Thatcher  shows  the  com- 
position of  the  ore  from  the  Pittsburg  mine. 

Per  cent% 


Iron 29.11 

Silica 32.46 

Phosphorus 20 

Sulphur 

Alumina  (A1203) 8.56 

Manganese  (Mn3C>4) 13.11 

Calcium  (CaC03) 6.71 


There  are  two  ledges  or  ore  bodies  on  the  Pittsburg  mine  and 
the  sample  from  which  the  above  analysis  was  made  came  from 
the  upper  one  of  the  two.  The  analysis  shows  the  ore  to  be  low 
in  iron  and  high  in  silica,  phosphorus,  alumina,  and  manganese. 
The  only  redeeming  feature  this  ore  has  is  its  high  per  cent,  of 
manganese  and  with  the  very  high  per  cent,  of  silica  it  has,  it  is 
very  doubtful  if  it  will  prove  of  very  much  value  to  use  by  itself, 
but  might  be  used  in  connection  with  some  good  high  grade  ore, 
like  the  Snoqualmie  pass  ore. 

The  following  analysis  by  E.  Fulmer  shows  the  composition 
of  the  ore  from  a new  location  by  J.  J.  Conner. 

Per  cent. 


Iron 46.60 

Insoluble  residue 27.04 

Phosphorus 59 

Sulphur NotDet 

Alumina  (A1203) None 

Manganese  (Mn304) 19 

Calci  um  (CaCO  3 ) 3.95 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington, 


25 


The  above  analysis  shows  the  sample  to  have  been  above  the 
average  in  iron  and  to  be  very  similar  to  the  ores  of  this  district 
in  other  respects. 

The  following  anlysis  by  S.  Shedd  shows  the  composition  of 
the  ore  from  the  upper  deposits  or  the  one  just  below  the  coal: 

Per  cent. 


Iron 42.43 

Silica 24.13 

Phosphorus 64 

Sulphur 25 

Alumina  (AI2O3) 9.54 

Manganese  (Mnj  O4) Notdet. 

Calcium  (Ca  C03) “ “ 


The  sample  from  which  the  above  analysis  was  made  was 
taken  from  the  vein  highest  up  above  the  river,  and  while  no 
work  has  been  done  here  the  analysis  shows  the  ore  to  be  a little 
above  the  average  in  the  amount  of  iron  it  contains,  of  the  ores 
in  the  Hamilton  district,  and  in  other  respects  to  be  about  the 
same  as  the  average  ore  of  this  locality. 


SNOQUALMIE  PASS  DISTRICT. 

ANALYSES  OF  IRON  ORES  FROM  SNOQUALMIE  PASS,  KING  COUNTY. 


No. 

Mine. 

1 ~ 

| Silica 

Iron  oxide — 

Aluminum 
oxide 

Phosphoric 
acid 

Sulphur 

Iron 

Phosphorus. . 

Analyst. 

20. . 

Guve 

3.60 

95.45 

Trace 

66.81 

Trace. 

Fulmer. 

21. . 

1 x J 

Guye 

4.20 

95.45 

66.82 

Fulmer. 

35. . 

Denny  

5.78 

89.22 

5.34 

.21 

62.45 

Shedd. 

36. . 

Denny  

1.89 

97.92 

.28 

.25 

68.54 

Shedd. 

THE  MODE  OF  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  SNOQUALMIE  PASS  ORES. 

The  iron  ores  of  the  Snoqualmie  Pass  district  occur  on  the 
south  fork  of  the  Snoqualmie  river  near  the  summit  of  the  Cas- 
cade mountains. 

The  pass,  as  determined  by  the  United  States  Geological  Sur- 
vey, has  an  altitude  above  sea  level  of  3,131  feet,  and  Guye’s 
peak  6,980  feet  and  Denny  mountain  5,766  feet.  The  ores  occur 
in  Guye's  peak  and  Denny  mountain  at  an  altitude  of  from  1,500 
to  2,000  feet  above  the  Snoqualmie  river.  The  ore  appears  to 
occur  in  beds  or  isolated  masses  and  not  in  veins.  The  country 
rock  in  this  locality  is  marble,  limestone,  granite,  and  conglom- 
erate and  the  iron  ore  occurs  in  connection  with  the  limestone  and 
marble  more  frequently  than  with  the  other  kinds  of  rock.  In 


26  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey . 


the  tunnel  on  the  Denny  mine  is  found  a coarse-grained  white 
marble  in  which  the  particles  are  very  loosely  cemented  together. 

CHARACTER  AND  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  SNOQUALMIE  PASS  ORES. 

The  iron  ores  of  the  Snoqualmie  pass  district  are  dark-colored 
heavy  ores  and  vary  from  quite  porous  to  very  fine-grained  masses. 
They  have  somewhat  of  a metallic  luster,  are  strongly  magnetic 
and  when  powdered  give  a black  streak. 

Below  are  given  descriptions  of  the  individual  properties  in 
Snoqualmie  pass  district. 

The  F.  M.  Guye  Properties. — These  properties  are  located 
on  what  is  known  as  Guye’s  peak,  about  four  miles  northwest 
from  Snoqualmie  pass.  Considerable  development  work  has  been 
done  on  these  properties  and  some  fine  magnetic  iron  has  been 
found  here,  but  the  question  that  has  not  been  definitely  settled 
as  yet  is  the  question  of  quantity.  The  ore  here  occurs  in  con- 
nection with  marble  and  limestone  principally. 

The  following  analyses  by  Professor  Elton  Fulmer  shows  the 
composition  of  the  ore  from  these  properties  : 

No.  1.  No.  2. 

Iron 66.81  66.82 

Silica 3.60  4.20 

Phosphorus Trace. 

Sulphur 

The  analyses  are  of  samples  collected  from  two  different  lo- 
calities and  show  the  ore  to  be  a very  high  grade  ore  almost  free 
from  phosphorus  and  sulphur,  and  as  already  stated,  the  only 
question  that  remains  in  connection  with  these  deposits  is  the 
one  of  quantity. 

The  Denny  Properties. — The  Denny  properties  are  located 
on  what  is  known  as  Denny  mountain,  a high  prominent  peak 
about  three  and  one-half  miles  south  of  Guye’s  peak,  and  about 
four  miles  southwest  of  Snoqualmie  pass.  A tunnel  has  been 
driven  into  the  mountain  for  some  considerable  distance  on 
these  properties  but  nothing  very  encouraging  has  been  devel- 
oped. In  the  tunnel  are  exposed  some  very  coarse-grained  and 
poorly  cemented  limestones  and  white  marbles. 

The  following  analyses  by  S.  Shedd  show  the  composition  of 
the  ore  from  these  properties  : 

No.  1.  No.  2. 

Iron 62  45  68.54 

Silica 5.78  1.89 

Phosphorus .... 

Sulphur 21  .25 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


27 


The  analyses  show  the  ore  to  be  excellent  in  quality.  It  is 
uncommonly  high  in  iron,  low  in  silica  and  sulphur,  with  prac- 
tically no  phosphorus.  Number  one  is  from  the  surface  about 
fifty  yards  from  the  tunnel.  The  question  here  again  is  quan- 
tity, and  the  indications  are  not  very  favorable  for  any  very  large 
body  of  ore. 

CLEALUM  DISTRICT. 

ANALYSES  OF  IRON  ORES  FROM  THE  CLEALUM  DISTRICT,  KITTITAS 

COUNTY. 


No. 

Mine. 

Silica 

J Iron  oxide 

Alumina  and 
chromium 
oxide 

Phosphoric 
acid 

Sulphur 

Iron 

Phosphorus — 

Manganese 
oxide 

Analyst. 

22. . 

Rmfirsmi 

15.58 

67.28 

1 92 

47  10 

Shedd. 

23 

Hard  Scrabble 

14.00 

68  38 

6.02 

47.87 

Trace 

24.  . 

Iron  Monarch  . 

7.50 

66.05 

j 25.95 

Trace 

Trace 

46.24 

Trace 

“ 

25. . 

Rnslyn 

8.70 

67.28 

12.22 

47.10 

.25 

4 l 

26. . 

Yar\kp.p 

7.84 

73.83 

1 5.67 

51.68 

.19 

<» 

27.. 

Yankee 

5.54 

77.71 

j 8.29 

Trace 

54.40 

Trace 

Trace 

28  . 

Iron  Monarch  . 

6.94 

73.02 

14.23 

51.13 

Little 

44 

29.. 

Ro^i  yn , . 

5.68 

86.40 

| 4.80 

57.12 

1C 

THE  MODE  OF  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  CLEALUM  ORE. 

The  ore  in  this  district  occurs  in  the  contact  between  a sand- 
stone and  serpentine  as  shown  by  Smith  and  Willis,  in  their 
paper  read  before  the  Washington  meeting,  February,  1900,  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers.  The  ore  outcrops 
along  the  valley  at  intervals,  from  about  one-fourth  of  a mile 
south  of  Boulder  creek  to  Camp  creek,  a distance  of  one  mile 
and  a half. 

To  the  east  of  these  outcrops  along  the  river,  and  from  700 
to  1,600  feet  above  them,  is  another  line  of  outcrops,  known  as 
the  Emerson  group  of  mines.  These  have  been  traced  for 
about  a mile.  The  ore  bodies  are  lenticular  and  vary  in  thick- 
ness from  a few  feet  to  thirty  feet. 

The  following  as  regards  their  geological  position  is  taken 
from  the  paper  by  Smith  and  Willis,  already  referred  to  : 

“They  have  a definite  geologic  position  in  the  rock  series  of  the  dis- 
trict, and  their  distribution  is  determined  by  the  geologic  structure. 
They  lie  on  the  surface  of  an  extensive  formation  of  serpentine  at  and  in 
the  base  of  a sandstone  called  the  Swauk  sandstone.  The  serpentine  is 
older  than  the  sandstone.  It  had  been  much  eroded  when  the  sandstone 
was  deposited,  and  the  sandstone,  although  composed  chiefly  of  granite 
sand,  contains  in  its  lower  beds,  near  the  serpentine,  bits  of  decomposed 

3— IV 


28  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


serpentine  and  heavy  minerals  derived  from  it.  Limited  lenses  of  shale 
composed  of  serpentine  wash  and  also  conglomerates  of  serpentine 
boulders  occur  at  the  base  of  the  sandstone.  Thus  the  surface  on  which 
the  iron  ores  occur  was  an  eroded  surface,  which,  with  the  soil  and 
other  residual  accumulations,  was  buried  beneath  granite  sands.  The 
relations  and  character  of  the  ore  indicate  that  it  was  a sedimentary  de- 
posit on  the  serpentine,  was  covered  by  the  sands,  and  later  metamor- 
phosed to  its  present  condition.  ” 

The  nearest  place  to  these  iron  deposits  where  coal  has  been 
found,  in  any  quantity  at  least,  is  Roslyn,  and  these  coals  are 
not  coking  coals,  so  that  it  would  seem  that  in  order  to  smelt 
these  ores  it  would  be  necessary  to  ship  them  some  place  to  fuel 
or  ship  the  coke  to  them,  either  of  which  would  be  expensive. 

CHARACTER  AND  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  CLEALUM  ORES. 

The  ores  of  this  district  vary  considerably  in  appearance  and 
general  characteristics  and  range  from  a high  grade  iron  ore  car- 
rying  57  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron  on  the  one  hand  to  a serpen- 
tine on  the  other  carrying  less  than  10  per  cent,  of  iron.  These 
ores  may  be  separated  into  three  classes,  as  follows:  Massive, 
laminated  and  oolitic.  The  massive  ore  has  a dull,  greenish 
black  color  and  when  powdered  gives  a brownish  black  streak. 
The  laminated  ore  varies  in  appearance,  in  some  cases  being 
dark  red  and  in  others  having  considerable  of  a metallic  appear- 
ance, but  in  each  case  giving  a deep  red  powder  or  streak  when 
pulverized.  The  oolitic  ore  has  a greenish  black  color  and  con- 
tains numerous  oolites  in  an  amorphous  ground  mass  and  when 
powdered  gives  a brownish  black  streak  or  powder.  All  of  these 
ores  are  quite  strongly  magnetic  and  are  apparently  mixtures  of 
hematite  and  magnetite.  In  some  of  the  ore  bodies  all  three 
classes  of  ore  are  found  and  in  others  only  one  class.  The 
oolitic  ore,  so  far  as  I could  determine,  is  not  found  in  the  ore 
bodies  farthest  up  on  the  hill,  high  above  the  river,  but  is  quite 
common  in  those  down  near  the  river  and  especially  those  near 
Camp  creek. 

The  samples  from  which  the  analyses  given  here  were  made 
are  thought  to  be  average  samples  of  the  ores  in  this  district, 
having  been  selected  with  a great  deal  of  care  by  the  writer  him- 
self, and  while  samples  could  probably  have  been  found  that 
would  have  shown  a higher  per  cent,  of  iron,  it  is  thought  that 
these  samples  show  the  average  of  the  larger  part  of  the  ore  in 
the  district. 


Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Annual  Report.  1901.  Plate  XXI. 


CLEALUM  MOUNTAIN. 


GUYE  IKON  MINE,  NEAR  SNOQUALMIE  PASS. 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


29 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  CLEALUM  IRON  DISTRICT. 

The  geology  of  this  district  has  been  very  carefully  worked 
out  by  George  Otis  Smith  and  Bailey  Willis  of  the  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey,  and  a summary  of  their  results  has  been  given 
in  a paper  read  at  the  Washington  meeting,  February,  1900,  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  and  published  in 
Volume  30  of  their  Transactions,  and  from  that  paper  is  taken 
the  most  of  what  is  given  here  as  regards  the  geology  of  the 
district. 

Smith  and  Willis  divide  the  rocks  of  this  district  into  two 
groups  and  designate  them  as  those  which  are  older,  or  pre- 
Eocene,  and  post-Eocene.  These  two  groups  are  unconformable, 
and  the  iron  ore  occurs  in  the  contact  between  the  two  forma- 
tions. 

“ Pre-Eocene  Rocks. — The  oldest  rocks  of  the  area  are  slates, 
chert,  limestone,  quartz  schist,  and  volcanic  breccias  and  tuffs,  consti- 
tuting a pre-Eocene  complex.  All  these  rocks  have  been  somewhat 
metamorphosed,  yet  rarely  too  such  an  extent  as  to  prevent  the  determ- 
ination of  their  origin.  They  were  folded,  sheared,  and  intruded  by 
igneous  rocks  early  in  the  history  of  the  region,  and  have  been  more  or 
less  mineralized  with  cupriferous,  and  argentiferous  deposits. 

“ One  of  the  most  voluminous  of  the  intrusives  in  the  pre-Eocene 
complex  consisted  of  large  masses  of  peridotite,  now  more  or  less  altered 
to  serpentine.  These  intrusive  masses  are  scores  of  miles  in  length  and 
several  miles  in  width.  They  have  in  great  part  the  form  and  relation 
of  large  dikes. 

“The  youngest  of  the  pre-Eocene  rocks  is  a granodiorite  closely 
resembling  that  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  The  rock  looks  like  an  ordinary 
medium-grained  granite,  except  that  it  is  poorer  in  quartz  and  slightly 
darker  in  color.  It  constitutes  the  Mt.  Stuart  batholith,  and  that  mass 
with  others  in  the  Cascades  furnished  the  sands  of  the  Swauk  sandstone. 

“ Eocene  and  Post-Eocene  Rocks.— Arkose  sandstone  constitutes 
the  great  mass  of  Eocene  strata  in  the  Cascade  range.  They  are  of 
wide-spread  occurrence  on  the  west  as  on  the  east  of  the  range.  In  the 
Mount  Stuart  district,  the  Eocene  sandstones  are  divided  by  an  extensive 
flow  of  basalt,  and  occordingly  the  Eocene  formations  are:  first,  the 
lower  sandstone, which  is  called  the  Swauk;  second,  the  Teanaway  basalt; 
and,  third,  the  upper  sandstone,  which  is  called  Roslyn. 

“The  two  sandstones  are  very  similar  in  general  character,  and  the 
eruption  of  basalt  which  flowed  from  conduits  now  represented  by  in- 
numerable dikes  in  the  Swauk  sandstone,  appears  to  have  occupied  a 
brief  interval,  after  which  the  conditions  of  erosion  and  deposition 
were  essentially  the  same  as  before  it. 

“ The  economically  important  facts  of  these  Eocene  rocks  are  the 


30  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


occurrence  of  a good  grade  of  steam  coal  mined  at  Roslyn,  and  the  pos- 
sibly valuable  iron  ores  at  the  base  of  the  Swauk. 

“ The  post-Eocene  formations  are  of  both  sedimentary  and  volcanic 
origin.  Basalt  flows,  younger  than  the  Teanaway  basalt,  connect  with 
basalts  which  form  the  great  expanse  of  the  Columbia  plain  far  to  the 
east.  A complex  mass  of  more  acid  volcanic  rocks,  chiefly  andesite, 
occurs  in  intricate  relations  with  other  formations  about  the  head 
waters  of  the  Yakima  river,  and  overlying  the  Swauk  sandstone  west  of 
the  head  waters  of  the  Clealum  river,  forms  the  summit  of  Goat 
mountain.” 

The  following  analysis  by  S.  Shedd  shows  the  composition 
of  the  ore  from  the  Emerson  mine. 

Per  cent. 


Iron 47.10 

Silica 15.58 

Phosphorus 

Sulphur 

Alumina  and  chromium  (A1203  and  Cr203) 1.92 


The  analysis  shows  the  ore  from  this  mine  to  carry  a fair 
per  cent,  of  iron,  a rather  high  per  cent,  of  silica,  a small 
amount  of  alumina  and  chromium,  and  no  phosphorus  or  sul- 
phur, and  is  a fairly  good  iron  ore. 

The  ore  body  in  this  mine  is  about  30  feet  wide  and  the  walls 
are  serpentine.  The  ore  is  of  a laminated  character,  and  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  ore  body  would  vary  considerably  in  the  amount 
of  iron  contained,  but  it  is  believed  the  sample  analyzed  would 
represent  fairly  well  the  average  of  the  whole  body  of  ore  in  this 
mine  so  far  as  the  present  exposures  are  concerned. 

The  following  analysis  by  S.  Shedd  shows  the  composition 
of  the  ore  from  the  Hard  Scrabble  mine. 

Per  cent. 


Iron 47.87 

Silica 14.00 

Phosphorus 

Sulphur 

Alumina  and  chromium  (A12C>3  and  Cr203) 6.02 

Manganese A little 


The  analysis  shows  the  ore  from  this  property  to  be  very  simi- 
lar to  the  Emerson,  which  it  joins. 

These  properties  are  situated  on  Magnetic  point  at  an  altitude 
of  about  1,500  to  2,000  feet  above  the  Clealum  river  at  Camp 
creek.  Some  work  has  been  done  on  these  properties  and  the 
ore  bodies  uncovered  for  some  distance.  The  occurrence  of  the 
ore  in  this  property  is  also  similar  to  the  occurrence  of  the  ore  in 
the  Emerson. 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


31 


The  following  analysis  by  S.  Shedd  shows  the  composition 
of  the  ore  from  the  Roslyn  mine: 

Per  cent. 


Iron 47.10 

Silica 8.70 

Phosphorus 

Sulphur 

Alumina  and  Chromium  (A1 2 O3  and  Cr203)  12.22 

Manganese 25 


The  analysis  shows  the  ore  to  be  a little  low  in  iron,  free 
from  phosphorus  and  sulphur  and  quite  high  in  aluminum,  but  at 
the  same  time  it  is  a fair  grade  of  ore.  The  ore  in  this  mine 
occurs  under  conditions  similar  to  those  under  which  the  ore  in 
the  Iron  Monarch,  which  it  joins,  occurs.  The  ore  body  is  about 
ten  feet  wide  and  is  about  half  of  it  oolitic  ore  and  the  other  half 
laminated  ore.  The  sample  analyzed  was  an  average  of  the 
laminated  ore,  and  is  seen  to  be  very  similar  to  the  oolitic  ore, 
with  the  exception  that  it  does  not  contain  more  than  half  as 
much  aluminum. 

The  following  analysis  by  S.  Shedd  shows  the  composi- 
tion of  the  laminated  ore  from  the  Yankee  mine. 


Per  cent. 

Iron . 51.68 

Silica 7.84 

Phosphorus 

Sulphur 

Alumina  and  chromium  (AI2O3  andCr203> 5.67 

Manganese 19 


The  analysis  shows  this  to  be  a good  iron  ore.  While  it  is 
true  the  per  cent,  of  iron  is  not  as  high  as  it  is  in  some  iron  ores, 
still  it  is  above  the  average  and  then  it  is  free  from  phosphorus 
and  sulphur  and  does  not  contain  a high  per  cent,  of  silica  or 
aluminum.  In  this  mine  the  oolitic  ore  does  not  occur  but  the 
laminated  and  massive  ores  do  occur,  and  the  sample  was  an 
average  sample  of  the  laminated  ore.  Some  work  has  been  done 
on  this  property  and  the  samples  taken  were  from  the  breast  in 
the  tunnel.  The  ore  body  in  this  mine  is  about  fifteen  feet 
wide  and  the  laminated  and  massive  ores  are  about  equally 
divided. 

The  following  analysis  by  S.  Shedd  shows  the  composition 
of  the  ore  from  the  Iron  Monarch  mine. 

Per  cent . 


Iron 46.24 

Silica 7.50 

Phosphorus Trace 

Sulphur Trace 

Alumina  and  chromium  (A120,j  and  Cr2Os) 25.95 

Manganese 


32  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


The  analysis  shows  this  sample  to  be  a little  low  in  iron  and 
to  contain  a very  high  per  cent,  of  aluminum.  While  the  alumi- 
num and  chromium  were  not  separated,  and  the  per  cent,  of  each 
determined,  the  amount  of  chromium  is  not  large  and  will  proba- 
bly not  exceed  5 per  cent,  at  the  outside,  so  that  there  is  probably 
21  per  cent,  at  least  of  alumina.  The  sample  from  which  the 
above  analysis  was  made  is  what  has  been  described  elsewhere 
as  oolitic  ore  of  a greenish  black  color  and  made  up  of  round 
grains  the  size  of  mustard  seed  up  to  as  large  as  a pea.  These 
grains  are  embedded  in  an  amorphous  or  finely-crystalline  ground 
mass.  The  ore  body  in  this  mine  is  about  ten  feet  wide  and  is 
about  half  of  it  this  oolitic  ore. 

The  following  analysis,  by  S.  Shedd,  shows  the  composi- 
tion of  the  massive  ore  from  the  Yankee  mine: 

Per  cent . 


Iron 54.40 

Silica 5.54 

Phosphorus Trace 

Sulphur 

Alumina  and  chromium  ( AI2O3  and Cr203) 8.29 

Manganese Trace 


The  analysis  shows  the  massive  ore  from  this  mine  to  carry  a 
higher  per  cent,  of  iron  than  the  laminated  ore ; it  also  has  a 
higher  per  cent,  of  aluminum  than  the  other,  but  not  enough  to 
interfere  seriously  with  its  smelting  qualities. 

The  following  analysis,  by  S.  Shedd,  shows  the  composi- 
tion of  the  massive  ore  from  the  Iron  Monarch  mine : 

Per  cent. 


Iron 51.13 

Silica 6.94 

Phosphorus 

Sulphur 

Alumina  and  chromium  (AI2O3  and  Cr203) 14.23 

Manganese 37 


The  above  analysis  shows  the  massive  ore  from  this  mine  to 
be  higher  in  iron  and  lower  in  alumina  than  the  oolitic  ore  from 
the  same  mine. 

The  following  analysis,  by  S.  Shedd,  shows  the  composi- 
tion of  the  highest  grade  massive  ore  found  in  the  Clealum  dis- 


: Percent. 

Iron 5 112 

Silica / *68 

Phosphorus 

Sulphur 

Alumina  and  chromium  ( AI2O3  and  Cr2Os ) 4.80 


The  above  analysis  shows  this  to  be  a good  grade  of  iron  ore. 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


33 


The  following  notes  and  analyses  are  from  a manuscript  report 
on  the  Clealum  iron  ores  by  R.  H.  Stretch,  E.  M. : 


“The  following  is  a report  on  eighteen  sacks  of  ore  taken  at  regular 
distances  across  the  body  with  a view  to  get  a fair  sample  of  the  quality 
at  that  point.  The  analyses  were  made  by  Professor  Chas.  F.  Chandler 
and  C.  E.  Pellew  of  Columbia  college,  New  York. 


Silica 10.28 

Iron 55.08 

Alumina 60 

Lime 53 

Magnesia 1.48 

Manganese 11 

Phosphorus 0139 


Titanic  acid None 

Sulphur None 

Carbonic  acid None 

Loss  on  ignition 5.30 

Oxygen,  alkalies,  etc 26.6061 


100.0000 


“ Another  analysis  of  the  ore  tested  at  the  Lanarkshire  Steel  Works, 
Motherwell,  England,  gave  as  follows: 


Silica 5.41 

Ferric  oxide 57.44 

Ferrous  oxide 15.58 

Aluminum  oxide  5.31 

Manganous  oxide 165 

Oxide  of  nickel 2.98 

Oxide  of  cobalt Trace 

Chromium  sesquioxide 2.12 

Lime Trace 

Magnesia 80 


Alkali 2.49 

Carbonic  acid 1.90 

Phosphoric  acid 161 

Sulphuric  acid Trace 

Combined  water 3.13 


98.87 

Iron 58.32 

Phosphorus 025 


“The  table  following  gives  the  results  obtained  by  Dr.  Edward 
Riley,  of  London,  England,  whose  standing  as  a consulting  metallurgist 
and  analyst  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  second  to  that  of  any  expert  in 
Europe,  and  who  is  almost  as  well  known  in  the  United  States  as  in  his 
own  country : 


25 

o 

Iron 

Sulphur 

Phosphorus. . 

Chromium  . . 

Oxides  of  Ni. 
and  Co 

Silica 

1 Alumina 

1 

3 

SB 

oq 

E3 

CD 

CD 

P 

Lime 

Oxide  of  Mn. . 

1... 

49.55 

Trace 

Trace 

2.04 

1.20 

7.65 

9.16 

3.87 

Trace 

1.00 

2... 

55.35 

0.07 

0.08 

1.99 

0.92 

7.55 

3.66 

2.16 

1.17 

2.20 

3... 

51.66 

0.05 

0.02 

2.06 

0.90 

5.85 

8.30 

3.26 

None 

0.65 

4... 

1 50.76 

0.04 

0.013 

2.65 

0.70 

5.90 

11.90 

1.00 

1.15 

0.69 

5... 

52.26 

0.04 

0.016 

3.18 

1.10 

6.10 

6.40 

2.75 

1.25 

1.15 

Av. 

1 51.916 

0.04 

0.0258 

2.381 

0.964 

6.61 

7.684 

2.608 

0.714 

1.138 

GENESIS  OF  THE  ORES. 

Willis  and  Smith,  in  their  paper  already  referred  to,  give  the 
following  hypothesis  as  regards  the  Clealum  ores  : 

“Source  of  the  Iron. — The  iron  concentrated  in  the  hematite 
and  magnetite  of  the  ore  may  be  of  extraneous  origin  or  derived  from 
an  adjacent  rock.  In  the  facts  of  its  position  and  association,  there  is 
no  evidence  to  show  that  it  is  a deposit  brought  in  from  any  more  or 


34  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


less  remote  extraneous  source.  There  is  much,  on  the  contrary,  to  con- 
nect it  with  the  serpentine.  In  its  field  relations,  the  ore  lies  on  the 
serpentine,  contains  serpentine  waste,  and  grades  into  shale  derived 
from  serpentine.  The  analysis  of  the  ore  and  serpentine  show  that  they 
both  contain,  in  addition  to  the  usual  rock  constituents,  such  occasional 
ones  as  chromium  and  nickel.  Magnesia,  an  important  constituent  of 
serpentine,  is  also  found  in  the  ore.  It  is,  therefore,  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  the  iron  ore  is  a result  of  concentration  from  the  serpentine. 

“Conditions  of  Deposition. — The  iron  ore  occurs  on  a surface 
of  unconformity,  the  surface  of  the  serpentine  formerly  exposed  to  the 
weather,  and  later  buried  under  sands  of  the  Swauk  formation.  In  order 
to  form  a hypothesis  of  the  conditions  of  concentration,  it  is  necessary 
to  interpret  the  facts  of  the  unconformity. 

“ The  basal-beds  of  the  Swauk  formation,  other  than  the  relatively 
limited  occurrence  of  iron  ore,  are  generally  coarse  arkose  and  more 
locally  conglomerates,  which  consists  of  granite,  greenstone  and  slate 
pebbles  mixed,  or  of  serpentine  boulders  alone,  or  rarely  of  granite 
boulders  alone.  The  conglomates  are  exceedingly  local  in  extent,  and 
when  composed  almost  wholly  of  surpentine  or  granite  are  restricted  to 
areas  of  those  rocks  underlying.  The  serpentine  conglomerates  contain 
only  occasionally  a granite  pebble  or  one  of  any  other  rock  than  serpen- 
tine. The  granite  conglomerates  contain  a larger,  but  yet  surprisingly 
small  proportion  of  slate  or  quartz  pebbles. 

“ These  facts,  taken  in  connection  with  the  enormous  volume  of 
arkose  which  constitutes  the  Swauk  and  Roslyn  formations, indicate  that 
the  conditions  limited  the  transportation  of  boulders  and  shingle,  but 
favored  the  accumulation  of  granite  sands,  and,  furthermore  that  the 
localities  where  serpentine  was  weathering  were  for  a time  protected 
from  the  widespreading  deposits  of  arkose. 

“ The  basal  contact  of  the  Swauk  with  the  older  formations  is  ex- 
ceedingly uneven,  and  when  traced  out  reveals  the  bold  relief  of  the 
Eocene  topographic  surface,  in  which  the  soft  shattered  serpentine  cor- 
responded with  lowlands.  These  depressions,  which  received  little  or 
no  wash  of  other  rocks  than  serpentine,  may  have  been  watersheds 
limited  to  areas  of  that  rock.  Here  meteoric  waters  leached  out  the 
soluble  parts  of  the  disintegrated  rock,  and  the  mantle  of  residual  ma- 
terial was  deep.  The  climate  was  sub-tropic  and  vegetation  abundant. 

“ As  the  coast  of  the  rising  water-body  of  the  early  Eocene  time  was 
established  it  assumed  a very  irregular  outline,  with  numerous  bays  and 
promontories.  The  climate  became  favorable  to  very  rapid  disintegra- 
tion of  the  granite,  probably  through  slight  hydration  of  the  feldspar, 
without  marked  chemical  change.  At  certain  points  along  the  coast, 
streams  delivered  the  granite  waste,  which  was  built  into  beaches,  spits 
and  bars  by  shore  currents.  Behind  the  beaches  and  spits,  lagoons  were 
enclosed  and,  in  some  instances,  such  lagoons  corresponded  to  shallow 
bays  which  received  the  drainage  from  areas  of  serpentine.  That  drainage 
was  charged  with  iron  and  with  decaying  plants.  The  conditions  were 
thus  favorable  for  precipitation  of  iron  either  as  ferrous  carbonate  or  as 


35 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington. 


a hydrate  of  the  sesqui-oxide  in  the  shallow  water  of  the  lagoon.  As  the 
shore  line  of  the  slowly  rising  water-body  advanced  upon  the  land,  the 
several  conditions  advanced  with  it,  and  in  favorable  localities  a deposit 
of  iron  was  a characteristic,  and  more  or  less  extensive,  basal  deposit  of 
the  sediments.  The  conditions  are  believed  to  have  been  closely  analo- 
gous  to  those  which  accompanied  the  deposition  of  the  carbonate  ores 
that  have  been  dug  in  the  Cretaceous  formations  about  Baltimore,  Md. 


“Chemical  Relations. — In  connection  with  the  hypothesis  that 
the  ore  is  the  product  of  decay  of  the  serpentine,  a comparison  of  the 
analyses  of  the  two  is  essential.  The  serpentine,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  an  analysis,  was  collected  at  some  distance  from  the  Clealum 
river  locality,  but  fairly  represents  the  rock  at  that  point.  It  is  here 
compared  with  the  average  sample  of  ore  taken  by  Mr.  Willis. 


Si02 

Ti02 

ai2o3 

Cr203  

Fe203  

FeO 

MnO 

MgO 

h2o 

K20  — No20 

P2O5  

NiO 

S 

C02 


/Serpentine, 

Ore, 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent . 

....  39. 

7.5 

.7 

1.75 

21.9 

47 

2.2 

....  5.16 

37.1 

....  1.71 

21.3 

15 

Trace . 

....  38. 

2.3 

....  13.74 

6.8 

Undet. 

.09 

.2 

.03 

.15 

100.21 

100.27 

“In  comparing  these  two  analyses  we  may  consider  the  lean  ore  as 
a rearranged,  but  chemically  little  modified,  residual  product  of  the 
serpentine.  In  such  comparisons  most  students  of  the  subject  of  weath- 
ering have  regarded  alumina  as  the  constituent  least  liable  to  removal, 
and  therefore  best  adapted  to  serve  as  a basis  of  calculation. 

“ Supposing  none  of  the  alumina  to  have  been  lost  in  the  course  of 
the  weathering  of  the  serpentine,  the  alumina  present  in  the  residual 
product  furnishes  a measure  of  the  amount  of  concentration  involved  in 
the  process,  and  also  of  the  amount  of  the  material  removed.  In  the 
present  case,  the  alumina  percentage  having  increased  from  less  than 
two  to  nearly  twenty-two,  it  would  follow  that  twelve  and  one-half  units 
by  weight  of  the  serpentiue  were  required  to  furnish  one  unit  of  the  re- 
sidual deposit.  Calculating  the  losses  for  the  principal  constituents  it 
is  found  that  the  material  removed  has  been  in  the  main  silica,  mag- 
nesia and  water.  The  approximate  losses  suffered  by  these  constitu- 
ents expressed  in  percentages  are  96,  99  and  97  per  cent.,  respectively. 
There  is  no  apparent  loss  of  ferrous  iron,  but  in  view  of  the  probable 
interchanges  of  the  two  oxides  of  iron,  the  result  may,  perhaps,  be  ex- 
pressed in  terms  of  the  iron  itself,  which  shows  a loss  of  31  per  cent,  in 
the  course  of  the  decomposition  of  the  serpentine  into  the  residual 


36  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


product.  There  were  also  small  losses  of  manganese,  chromium,  phos- 
phorus, nickel  and  the  alkalies,  many  of  these  losses  being  large  if  ex- 
pressed in  terms  of  the  amount  present  in  the  serpentine.” 

The  amount  of  concentration  as  here  shown  by  Willis  and 
Smith  may  seem  very  large  and  almost  unreasonable  but  there 
are  cases  on  record*  where  serpentine  weathered  into  a residual 
soil  and,  based  on  the  amount  of  alumina,  showed  a concentra- 
tion of  nearly  thirty  to  one.  The  two  cases  are  quite  similar  but 
differ  in  the  fact  that  in  the  soil  the  amount  of  silica  is  sufficient 
to  combine  with  the  alumina  while  in  the  iron  ore  there  is  more 
than  enough  alumina  to  combine  with  the  silica  and  the  alumina 
must  therefore  be  present  in  the  free  or  uncombined  condition. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  plain  to  see  that  Willis  and  Smith 
attribute  the  Clealum  iron  ores  to  the  weathering  and  concentra- 
tion of  the  serpentine  in  which  they  are  found  at  present  and 
that  they  are  not  contemporaneous  with  them. 


COLVILLE  AND  VALLEY  DISTRICT. 
ANALYSES  OF  IRON  ORES  FROM  STEVENS  COUNTY. 


No. 

Mine. 

Silica 

Iron  Oxide 

Aluminum  and 
Chromium  Oxides 

Phosphorus 

Acid 

Sulphur 

1 Iron 

Phosphorus 

Analyst. 

37.. 

Silver  King,  Valley 

1.66 

96.51 

.38 

67.56 

Shedd. 

38.. 

Silver  King,  Valley 

1.12 

97.28 

.25 

68.10 

39: 

I.  X.  L.,  Colville 

4.49 

80.08 

2.00 

.72 

.32 

56.58 

.31 

u 

40.. 

I.  X.  L.,  Colville 

14.90 

72.12 

2.48 

.68 

.32 

50.48 

.30 

•« 

41.. 

Capital,  Valley 

5.80 

84.55 

1.85 

.36 

.33 

59.19 

.16 

42.. 

Vigilant,  Valley 

3 54 

83.62 

3.18 

.51 

.21 

58.53 

.22 

Cl 

THE  MODE  OF  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  ORES. 

The  general  character  of  the  region  in  which  the  iron  ores 
of  Stevens  county  occur,  is  that  of  a mountainous  country  with 
comparatively  level  valleys  of  considerable  extent  along  the 
larger  streams  and  the  mountains  rising  gradually  until  an  alti- 
tude of  from  2,000  to  3,000  feet  above  the  valleys  is  reached. 
The  rocks  of  this  region  are  limestones,  shales,  slates,  serpen- 
tines, porphyries  and  marbles.  The  ores  occur  both  in  veins 
and  in  bedded  deposits  principally  in  the  limestone  and  por- 
phyry. 


^Merrill:  Rock,  Rock- Weathering  and  Soil,  p.  226. 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington 


37 


CHARACTER  AND  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  STEVENS  COUNTY  ORES. 


The  ores  of  Stevens  county  are  principally  hematites  and 
limonites,  and  vary  in  appearance  and  texture  from  a very  com- 
pact metallic-appearing  mass  to  a finely  divided  loose  red  pow- 
der which  has  been  used  very  successfully  as  a paint.  Some  of 
these  ores  again  have  small  octahedral  crystals  of  magnetite 
scattered  profusely  throughout  the  mass. 

The  ore  from  the  Clugston  creek  district  is  a limonite  or  bog 
ore  of  a porous  nature  and  ranges  in  hardness  from  a soft  de- 
composed ore  to  a hard  flinty  ore.  When  pulverized  it  gives  a 
brown  streak  and  powder.  The  ores  east  of  Valley  are  limo- 
nites having  a deep  red  to  almost  black  color,  and  when  pulver- 
ized vary  in  color  from  a brown  to  dark  red,  indicating  that  in 
some  cases  at  least  there  is  some  hematite  present.  The  ores 
from  west  of  Valley  are  hematites  with  some  magnetite  and  vary 
in  appearance  from  deep  red  to  metallic.  These  ores  when  pul- 
verized give  a deep  red  streak  and  powder.  The  ores  of  Stev- 
ens county  carry  a high  per  cent,  of  iron,  running  from  50  per 
cent,  to  as  high  as  68  per  cent,  metallic  iron. 


The  Clugston  Creek  District.  — This  district  is  about 
twenty  miles  north  and  a little  west  of  Colville,  T.  39  N.,  R.  37 
E.,  section  11.  The  country  rock  in  this  district  is  a limestone 
and  the  iron  ore  seems  to  occur  in  masses,  and  not  in  a continu- 
ous vein,  in  the  limestone  and  varies  from  well  concentrated  iron 
ore  to  limestone  with  very  little  iron  ore  in  it.  Two  tunnels  have 
been  run  on  one  of  these  properties,  and  at  the  end  of  the  lower 
tunnel  a shaft  sixty  feet  deep  has  been  sunk,  so  that  a depth  of 
100  to  120  feet  has  been  reached  on  this  property.  In  the  upper 
tunnel  considerable  ore  was  found,  but  in  the  lower  one  and  in 
the  shaft  no  ore  was  found.  The  ore  in  this  district  from  present 
indications,  so  far  as  I was  able  to  judge,  is  of  very  limited  extent. 

The  following  analyses  by  S.  Shedd  show  the  composition  of 
the  ore  from  the  I.  X.  L.  mine  : 


Iron 

Silica 

Alumina 

Sulphur 

Phosphorus 


Per  cent.  Per  cent. 
...  56.58  50.48 

...  4.49  14.90 

...  2.00  2.48 

...  .32  .32 

...  .31  .30 


The  analyses  show  the  ore  to  carry  a good  per  cent,  of  iron 
and  not  an  unusually  high  amount  of  sulphur  or  phosphorus  and 


38 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


to  vary  considerably  in  the  amount  of  silica.  The  amount  of 
phosphorus  is  too  high  for  a Bessemer  ore. 

The  following  analyses  by  S.  Shedd  show  the  composition  of 
the  iron  ore  from  the  Silver  King  mine: 

Per  cent.  Per  cent. 


Iron 67.56  68.10 

Silica  1.66  1.12 

Alumina .... 

Sulphur 38  .25 


Phosphorus 

The  analyses  show  this  ore  to  be  a very  fine  high  grade  iron  ore. 
The  samples  analyzed  were  both  from  the  same  property.  Some 
development  work  has  been  done  on  this  property,  a tunnel  hav- 
ing been  run  in  on  the  ledge  for  about  forty  feet,  but  as  the  hill 
has  a comparatively  gentle  slope  no  very  great  depth  has  been 
reached.  The  country  rock  is  shale,  slate,  limestone,  and  ser- 
pentine. The  question  of  quantity  is  one  that  remains  to  be  de- 
termined, as  with  the  amount  of  work  done  it  is  not  possible  to 
tell  very  much  as  to  the  extent  of  the  ore  body. 

The  following  analysis,  by  S.  Shedd,  shows  the  composi- 
tion of  the  iron  ore  from  the  Capital  mine  : 

Per  cent. 


Iron 59.19 

Silica 5.80 

Alumina 1.85 

Sulphur 33 

Phosphorus 36 


The  above  analysis  shows  the  ore  to  be  a good  grade  iron 
ore,  a little  high  in  sulphur  and  phosphorus  for  a Bessemer  ore, 
however.  This  property  is  situated  about  two  miles  east  of 
Valley,  a small  town  on  the  Spokane  Falls  & Northern  Railroad. 
The  ore  appears  to  occur  in  a bedded  deposit  and  varies  from  a 
soft,  loose,  reddish  mass  to  a hard  compact  ore,  occurring  in 
more  or  less  concretionary  or  nodular  masses.  Considerable  ore 
has  been  shipped  from  here  to  the  Tacoma  smelter  and  used  as 
a flux  in  the  smelting  of  other  ores. 

The  following  analysis,  by  S.  Shedd,  shows  the  composi- 
tion of  the  iron  ore  from  the  Vigilant  mine  : 

Per  cent. 


Iron 58.53 

Silica 3.54 

Alumina 3.18 

Sulphur 21 

Phosphorus 51 


The  analysis  shows  this  sample  to  be  a good  ore  as  far  as  the 
per  cent,  of  iron  it  contains  is  concerned,  but,  like  the  preced- 


The  Iron  Ores  of  Washington.  39 


ing  one,  to  be  too  high  in  sulphur  and  phosphorus  for  a Bes- 
semer ore.  The  occurrence  of  the  ore  in  this  mine  is  similar  to 
that  in  the  Capital.  The  sample  analyzed  was  a finely  divided, 
loose,  uncompacted  mass,  and  similar  to  the  ores  from  this  local- 
ity that  have  been  used  to  a limited  extent  as  a roof  paint. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

Several  things  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  determin- 
ing the  location  of  iron  and  steel  industries  or  plants,  the  most 
important  of  which  are  the  following:  iron  ore,  fuel,  fluxes,  price 
of  labor,  and  nearness  to  markets. 

The  preceding  analyses  show  that  Washington  has  some  very 
high  grade  iron  ores,  but  the  question  that  has  not  been  settled  as 
yet  is  the  one  of  quantity.  In  most  of  the  districts  of  the  state  where 
iron  is  found  so  little  work  has  been  done  that  it  is  not  possible 
to  say  positively  whether  the  ore  occurs  in  large  quantities  or  not, 
and  since  the  quality  of  the  ore  is  good  it  would  seem  to  be  worth 
while  to  spend  money  enough  in  prospecting  thoroughly  some  of 
the  best  districts  to  determine  the  extent  of  the  deposits. 

The  Snoqualmie  pass,  the  Clealum,  and  the  Stevens  county 
deposits  are  all  situated  long  distances  inland,  and  in  most  cases 
some  distance  from  railroads.  The  Snoqualmie  pass  district,  which 
contains  the  highest  grade  of  iron  ore,  is  about  fifty  miles  from 
tide  water  and  the  Clealum  district  is  about  eighty  miles,  and  no 
fuels  near  them  except  wood  for  charcoal.  This  would  probably 
mean  the  paying  of  freight  on  them  to  tide  water  some  place  on 
the  Sound,  and  unless  the  freight  rate  could  be  lowered  very 
materially  from  what  it  is  at  the  present  time  it  would  tend  to 
prevent  the  using  of  these  ores. 

The  question  of  good  fuel  is  a very  important  one  in  the 
manufacture  of  iron  and  one  that,  so  far  as  I can  learn,  has  not 
been  fully  solved  as  yet  in  Washington.  Charcoal  makes  a very 
high  grade  pig  iron,  but  it  is  expensive  and  especially  so  where 
it  has  to  be  made  from  soft  wood  as  it  does  here.  Washington 
has  large  deposits  of  coal,  some  of  which  are  coking  coals,  but 
the  coke  is  not  of  the  best  quality,  however,  for  the  manufacture 
of  iron.  A good  coke  for  iron  furnaces  should  be  low  in  ash, 
free  from  phosphorus  and  sulphur,  and  hard  enough  so  as  not  to 
crush  when  charged  into  the  furnaces.  If  it  is  high  in  ash  it  takes 
just  that  much  more  flux,  as  it  has  to  be  gotten  rid  of  by  this 


40 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


means.  As  already  stated,  a very  small  per  cent,  of  phosphorus 
or  sulphur  in  a pig  iron  injures  it  for  many  purposes.  If  the  fuel 
contains  these  substances  they  show  in  the  pig  iron  the  same  as 
though  they  had  been  in  the  ore. 

While  analyses  of  the  Washington  cokes  have  not  been  made 
in  connection  with  this  report,  the  best  data  obtainable  seems  to 
indicate  that  they  are  high  in  ash  and  contain  some  phosphorus 
and  sulphur.  They  are  also  soft  cokes  as  compared  with  the 
best  grades  of  coke  for  iron  furnace  work. 

Washington  has  plenty  of  material  suitable  for  fluxes  and  no 
fear  need  be  felt  in  this  particular.  Labor  is  perhaps  a little 
higher  in  Washington  than  it  is  in  the  East,  but  the  difference 
would  have  very  little  effect  on  the  price  of  iron.  The  whole 
Pacific  Coast  would  furnish  the  market,  as  very  little  pig  iron,  if 
any,  is  being  produced  in  any  of  the  states  west  of  the  Rockies, 
except  Washington,  at  the  present  time  ( March,  1902  ),  and  the 
steel  and  iron  being  used  on  the  Coast  is  shipped  from  the  East. 

The  results  shown  here  are  rather  against  the  probability  of 
Washington  ever  becoming  a very  large  producer  of  pig  iron 
from  ores  occurring  within  her  own  borders,  at  least,  unless 
other  deposits  than  those  known  at  present  are  found.  There 
is,  however,  one  factor  that  has  not  been  taken  into  considera- 
tion as  yet,  and  that  is  the  British  ore  occurring  on  Texada 
island  and  perhaps  some  of  the  other  islands  in  the  Straits  of 
Georgia. 

Number  7,  in  the  table  of  analyses  of  Washington  iron  ores, 
shows  the  ore  to  be  of  very  high  grade,  carrying  67.91  per  cent, 
of  iron,  2.96  per  cent,  of  silica,  1.05  per  cent,  of  calcium  carbon- 
ate, and  practically  free  from  phosphorus  and  sulphur.  This 
Texada  ore  is  a heavy,  black  magnetite,  and  is  said  to  occur  in 
large  quantities  and  is  easy  of  access.  The  ore  could  be  mined 
and  loaded  on  boats  or  scows  and  transported  to  any  place  on 
the  Sound  at  very  small  cost  per  ton. 

If,  on  further  investigation,  it  should  be  found  that  the 
Washington  coke  is  suitable  for  use  in  the  manufacture  of  iron, 
it  is  possible,  perhaps,  that  by  using  the  Texada  ore  alone,  or 
by  mixing  it  with  the  ores  found  in  this  state,  that  a considera- 
ble iron  industry  might  be  built  up  at  some  place  on  the  Sound. 


Washington  Geological  Survey.  Annual  Report,  190L  Plate  XXII. 


MAP  OF  THE  KNOWN  COAL  FIELDS  OF  WASHINGTON, 


THE  COAL  DEPOSITS  OF  WASHINGTON, 


BY  HENRY  LANDES. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  first  authentic  record  we  have  of  coal  being  found  in 
Washington  was  in  1851,  when  some  pieces  of  coal  were  picked 
up  on  the  Stilaguamish  river.  Samples  were  sent  to  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  to  be  analyzed,  and  were  found  to  be  of  good  quality. 
Later  investigations  made  by  Rev.  G.  F.  Whitworth  showed 
however  that  the  seams  were  too  thin  to  be  profitably  worked.* 

On  Bellingham  bay  the  first  discovery  of  coal  was  made  in 
the  fall  of  1852.  Some  work  was  done  on  the  outcrop  and 
about  150  tons  were  shipped,  but  by  that  time  it  was  discovered 
that  the  coal  was  of  poor  quality  and  not  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  be  of  value,  and  it  was  therefore  abandoned. 

The  next  year,  that  is,  in  the  fall  of  1853,  two  men,  Brown 
and  Hewitt,  discovered  coal  at  Sehome.  They  were  logging  for 
the  mill  on  Whatcom  creek  and  found  the  coal  where  it  had 
been  uncovered  by  the  uprooting  of  a large  fir  tree.  They  sent 
some  of  the  coal  to  San  Francisco  for  trial  and  a short  time  af- 
terward received  an  offer  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  their 
claim,  which  they  promptly  accepted.  For  a number  of  years 
this  was  the  only  mine  in  the  territory  that  was  operated  to  any 
extent.  It  was  finally  abandoned  a number  of  years  ago. 

In  1853  Dr.  M.  Bigelow  found  coal  on  Black  river  near 
Seattle.  The  vein  was  opened  up  and  operated  until  the  time  of 
the  Indian  outbreak  in  1855.  Two  of  Bigelow’s  partners,  Fan- 
joy  and  Eaton,  were  killed  by  the  Indians  and  the  mine  was 
abandoned.  Several  attempts  have  since  been  made  to  re-open 
the  mine  but  the  coal  contains  too  much  dirt  to  make  it  profitable. 

Early  in  the  fifties  coal  was  discovered  on  the  Skookumchuck 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  town  of  Bucoda.  The  territorial 

♦Coal  Mines  of  Western  Washington,  Rev.  G.  F.  Whitworth.  Resources  of  Ore- 
gon and  Washington,  Portland,  Oregon,  December,  1881. 

(41) 


42 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


penitentiary  was  located  at  this  place  and  the  convicts  were 
employed  for  a number  of  years  in  the  coal  mine.  When  the 
penitentiary  was  removed  to  Walla  Walla  the  mine  was  closed 
down. 

Coal  was  also  found  on  Clallam  bay  and  was  opened  up  in 
1864  or  1865.  The  coal  was  of  good  quality  but  the  vein  wras 
too  thin  to  be  profitably  mined  and  so  nothing  has  been  done 
with  it  for  many  years. 

In  1863  two  very  important  discoveries  of  coal  were  made. 
The  first  was  at  Issaquah  or  Gilman,  and  the  other  a month  or 
two  later  on  Coal  creek  near  Lake  Washington,  about  where  the 
town  of  Newcastle  now  stands.  A number  of  Seattle  men, 
including  Daniel  Bagley,  G.  F.  Whitworth,  John  Ross  and 
other  well  known  pioneers  acquired  an  interest  in  the  property 
and  began  active  development.  The  coal  was  first  carried  to 
Lake  Washington  in  wagons,  transported  across  the  lake  by 
barges,  and  then  carried  to  Seattle  in  wagons.  In  1867  the 
Lake  Washington  Coal  Company,  consisting  of  the  above  named 
gentlemen  and  others,  was  incorporated  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  more  extensive  developments.  A new  opening  was 
made  and  the  transportation  facilities  improved.  The  coal 
was  carried  down  Black  river  to  the  Duwamish,  thence  down  the 
Duwamish  to  Elliott  bay.  Barges  were  first  employed  and  after- 
wards steamers. 

In  1870  the  property  was  sold  to  the  Seattle  Coal  Company. 
The  new  company  immediatsly  began  to  construct  a tramway 
to  Lake  Washington  from  the  mine  and  another  from  Lake  Wash- 
ington to  Lake  Union  over  the  portage.  A little  locomotive  and 
train  of  cars  brought  the  coal  from  the  mine  at  Newcastle  down 
to  Lake  Washington,  where  the  whole  train  was  loaded  on  a 
barge  and  carried  over  to  Union  bay  were  it  disembarked  onto 
the  portage  tramway.  After  passing  over  the  portage  the  train 
was  loaded  on  another  barge  on  Lake  Union  and  taken  to  the 
point  where  the  Western  mill  now  stands.  From  there  the 
train  proceeded  up  town  to  the  coal  bunkers,  which  were  situated 
somewhere  on  Pike  street. 

Early  in  the  seventies  Seattle  was  making  determined  efforts 
to  secure  railroad  communication  with  the  outside  world.  The 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  decided  on  Tacoma  as  its 
western  terminus  and  showed  a disposition  to  leave  out  Seattle 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington. 


43 


altogether.  The  citizens  of  Seattle  therefore  organized  the 
Seattle  & Walla  Walla  Railroad  and  Transportation  Company 
and  began  a line  of  their  own.  They  constructed  the  road  to 
Renton  and  Newcastle  and  from  that  time  forward  the  old  port- 
age route  was  abandoned. 

Coal  was  discovered  near  Renton  in  1873  by  Mr.  E.  M. 
Smithers.  Together  with  T.  B.  Morris,  C.  B.  Shattuck  and 
others  he  organized  the  Renton  Coal  Company  for  the  purpose 
of  developing  the  property.  The  coal  was  run  down  on  tram 
cars  from  the  mine  opening  to  the  Duwamish  river  where  it  was 
loaded  on  barges  and  towed  into  Seattle. 

The  Talbot  mine  was  opened  near  the  Renton  Coal  Com- 
pany’s property  in  1874.  John  Leary,  John  Collins  and  J.  F. 
McNaught,  who  had  control  of  the  property,  organized  the 
Talbot  Coal  Company.  After  a few  years  of  operation  they 
found  their  vein  badly  faulted  and  finally  abandoned  it. 

Somewhere  about  1862  or  1863  a gentleman  named  Mr.  Van 
Ogle  discovered  coal  in  the  canyon  of  Carbon  river.  He  found 
it  in  such  large  quantities  and  over  such  a wide  extent  of  terri- 
tory that  he  concluded  that  a single  claim  would  be  of  no  par- 
ticular value  to  him,  so  he  did  not  interest  himself  any  further 
in  the  matter.  During  1874  and  1875  a large  number  of  coal 
claims  were  taken  and  considerable  prospecting  done.  In  1876 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  built  a line  to  Wilkeson  and  after- 
ward to  Carbon  Hill.  The  original  Wilkeson  mine  was  aban- 
doned after  about  three  years  operation. 

The  Green  river  coal  field  was  discovered  at  a later  date. 
Since  that  time  new  discoveries  have  been  made  in  a great  many 
different  places,  so  that  the  limits  of  the  known  coal  bearing 
rocks  are  being  gradually  extended. 

GEOLOGY  OF  THE  COAL  MEASURES. 

For  the  most  part  the  coal  seams  of  Washington  occur  inter- 
bedded  in  a series  of  light-colored  sandstones  and  shales,  with 
sandstones  as  the  predominating  rocks.  The  latter  are  usually 
bluish  or  grayish  in  color,  but  often  weather  into  light  buff  owing 
to  the  oxidation  of  the  iron  carbonate  which  they  contain.  These 
rocks  are  not  confined  to  the  districts  where  workable  coal  seams 
are  known  to  occur,  but  outcrop  at  intervals  over  the  principal 
part  of  western  Washington.  In  some  places  the  strata  are  fourd 


4— IV 


44 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


almost  horizontal,  but  usually  they  are  considerably  folded  and 
faulted  and  the  upturned  edges  deeply  eroded.  Careful  meas- 
urements of  the  series  in  the  neighborhood  of  Puget  sound,  made 
by  Mr.  Bailey  Willis,  has  shown  a thickness  of  about  ten  thou- 
sand feet. 

Carbonaceous  matter  is  distributed  in  greater  or  less  quantity 
throughout  the  rocks  of  the  whole  series.  Small  streaks  of  coal 
are  found  in  most  of  the  sandstones.  The  shales  vary  in  color 
from  light  gray  to  black,  according  to  the  amount  of  carbonace- 
ous matter  present.  All  gradations  are  found  between  carbon- 
aceous shale  and  pure  coal.  While  the  number  of  workable  coal 
veins  is  small,  being  perhaps  not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  in  any 
one  district,  the  number  of  seams  of  more  or  less  impure  coal  is 
very  large,  considerably  over  a hundred  being  known.  All  the 
veins  thus  far  discovered  which  are  clean  enough  and  with  the 
coal  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  of  commercial  value  are  contained 
in  the  lower-most  three  thousand  feet  of  the  series.  The  upper 
two-thirds  have  thus  far  proven  barren  of  workable  seams, 
although  rich  in  disseminated  carbon.  From  the  evidence  of 
fossil  leaves  collected  from  various  localities  Professor  F.  H. 
Knowlton  has  determined  these  rocks  to  be  of  the  Eocene  age. 

At  the  time  these  sediments  were  laid  down  the  region  be- 
tween the  present  Cascade  and  Olympic  mountains  was  a shallow 
sea  or  wide  lagoon,  more  or  less  completely  cut  off  from  the  ocean. 
That  it  was  fresh  or  brackish  water  is  shown  by  the  character  of 
the  animal  remains  embedded  in  the  sediments.*  These  are 
mostly  unios  or  other  fresh  water  forms. 

During  the  whole  of  the  long  period  in  which  these  sediments 
were  being  deposited  the  region  was  undergoing  a gradual  but 
persistent  sinking.  The  evidence  of  the  coal  seams  in  the  lowest 
strata  clearly  shows  that  at  that  period  the  water  at  intervals  was 
very  shallow,  and  at  the  end  of  the  period  after  sediments  nearly 
two  miles  deep  had  been  deposited  the  water  still  remained  at 
about  the  same  depth,  showing  that  in  the  meantime  the  bottom 
of  the  sea  had  sunk  two  miles.  These  nicely  adjusted  forces  of 
nature  permitted  the  accumulation  of  a practically  unbroken 
series  of  sediments  throughout  the  whole  period. 

Subsidence  did  not  take  place  at  a uniform  rate.  There 

* Invertebrate  Fossils  from  Pacific  Coast,  C.  A.  White,  Bulletin  51,  United  States 
Geological  Survey,  p.  56. 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington. 


45 


were  periods  during  which  the  process  of  sedimentation  shoaled 
the  waters  faster  than  the  sea  floor  sank,  and  this  continued 
until  the  water  was  shallow  enough  to  support  a swamp  vege- 
tation, which  thereupon  spread  over  the  broad  lagoons  and  flour- 
ished with  great  luxuriance.  In  regard  to  the  climate,  Professor 
F.  H.  Knowlton  * says:  “The  lower  beds,  on  account  of  the 

abundance  of  ferns,  gigantic  palms,  figs,  and  a number  of  genera 
now  found  in  the  West  Indies  and  tropical  South  America,  may 
be  supposed  to  have  enjoyed  a much  warmer,  possibly  a sub- 
tropical temperature,  while  the  presence  of  sumacs,  chestnuts, 
birches  and  sycamores  in  the  upper  beds,  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate an  approach  to  the  conditions  prevailing  at  the  present 
day.” 

Alternating  with  the  periods  of  coal  formation,  there  were 
long  lapses  of  time  during  which  the  water  was  too  deep  to  ad- 
mit of  swamp  growth.  These  were  the  times  when  subsidence 
proceeded  at  a more  rapid  rate  than  sedimentation,  or  at  least 
kept  pace  with  it.  Sand  and  clay  were  then  deposited.  The 
final  results  of  this  intermittant,  long  continued  subsidence  was 
that  we  now  have  a large  number  of  coal  seams  and  layers  of 
more  or  less  carbonaceous  matter  interstratified  with  beds  of 
sandstone  and  shale. 

In  order  to  maintain  the  water  in  a fresh  or  brackish  condi- 
tion either  the  outlet  to  the  sea  was  very  narrow  or  the  climate 
must  have  been  even  more  humid  than  it  is  at  present.  When 
we  consider  that  notwithstanding  the  great  volumes  of  fresh 
water  being  continually  poured  into  Puget  sound  the  water  is  not 
appreciably  freshened  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  prevalence 
of  fresh  water  forms  in  the  Eocene  sea  except  on  the  hypothesis 
that  it  was  almost  entirely  cut  off  from  communication  with  the 
open  sea.  The  Olympic  and  Cascade  mountains  had  not  then 
risen  to  their  present  height  but  were  probably  rather  in  the  form 
of  low  hills.  The  rocks  of  which  they  were  formed  were  mostly  of 
granitic  type,  as  shown  by  the  character  of  the  sediments  derived 
from  them.  The  coal  bearing  rocks  are  known  to  occur  along 
the  western  slope  of  the  Cascade  mountains  from  the  northern 
border  of  the  state  southward  to  the  Columbia  river.  It  is  prob- 
able that  rocks  of  the  same  age  form  a rim  around  the  foothills 
of  the  Olympics.  Coal  has  been  found  in  a number  of  places  in 


* Geological  Atlas  of  the  U.  S.,  Tacoma  Folio,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey. 


46 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


that  part  of  the  state,  but  owing  to  the  very  heavy  forests  and 
almost  entire  absence  of  roads  very  little  is  known  about  the 
region.  Intermediate  between  the  eastern  and  western  parts  of 
the  field  there  was  probably  a nearer  approach  to  marine  condi- 
tions. Marine  fossils  found  in  Duwamish  valley  indicate  that 
the  border  of  estuarine  conditions  was  somewhere  between  that 
locality  and  the  coalfields  to  the  eastward.  The  greater  part  of 
these  fossils  are  identical  with  species  found  in  the  Tejon  group 
of  California,  which  is  of  Eocene  age.* 

VARIETIES  AND  USES  OF  THE  COAL. 

The  coal  is  essentially  a lignite  in  character.  In  certain  lim- 
ited localities,  however,  where  great  internal  disturbance  has 
taken  place  so  that  the  coal  has  been  crushed  and  rolled  it  has 
lost  much  of  its  volatile  constituents  and  has  become  bituminous. 
The  lignite  is  usually  quite  hard  and  breaks  into  more  or  less 
cubical  forms.  The  bituminous  coals  are  rather  soft.  They  have 
been  rolled  out  between  their  walls  and  thoroughly  crushed,  so 
that  a considerable  percentage  of  the  volatile  constituents  have 
escaped  and  the  coal  is  consequently  richer  in  fixed  carbon.  The 
semi-bituminous  or  steaming  coal  lies  midway  between  these  two. 
Frequently  the  change  from  lignite  to  bituminous  and  back  again 
occurs  within  the  same  vein. 

The  value  of  the  coal  depends  upon  the  varying  percentages 
of  moisture,  ash,  sulphur,  volatile  hydro-carbons,  and  fixed  car- 
bon. In  regard  to  the  first  three  of  these  the  smaller  the  per- 
centage the  greater  will  be  the  value  of  the  coal.  The  ash  is 
derived  from  two  sources  : ist,  the  natural  ash  present  in  the 
plant  from  which  the  coal  is  derived ; 2d,  the  dirt  carried  into 
the  original  coal  swamp  by  streams  and  deposited  with  the  coal. 
This  latter  source  is  usually  by  far  the  most  important  one.  In 
a large  number  of  coal  seams  it  is  the  high  percentage  of  ash 
rather  than  any  other  drawback  which  prevents  the  coal  from 
being  placed  on  the  market.  A number  of  representative  analyses 
of  coal  from  the  principal  mines  show  a range  in  the  percentage 
of  ash  from  5.76  to  12.55.  The  samples  from  which  these 
analyses  were  made  were  presumably  taken  so  as  to  represent  a 
fair  average  of  the  commercial  article  as  it  was  placed  on  the 
market. 


* Correlation  Papers,  Eocene,  W.  B.  Clark,  Bulletin  83,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  p.  108. 


47 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington. 

A high  percentage  of  moisture  detracts  from  the  heating 
qualities  of  the  coal  because  all  the  moisture  has  to  be  volatilized 
before  any  of  the  heat  energy  is  available  for  any  other  pur- 
pose. The  lignites  of  course  contain  more  moisture  than  the 
bituminous  coal  and  consequently  have  not  such  high  heating 
qualities. 

A certain  percentage  of  volatile  hydro-carbons  is  essential  to 
coal.  For  steam  generating  purposes  the  semi-bituminous  has 
been  found  to  be  the  best.  It  has  a representative  analysis  as 
follows:  moisture,  less  than  5 per  cent.;  ash,  5 to  10  per  cent.; 
volatile  hydro-carbons,  30  to  40  per  cent.;  fixed  carbon  40  to 
50  per  cent. 

The  Puget  sound  coals  are  suited  to  a variety  of  purposes. 
The  output  of  some  of  the  mines  is  used  almost  exclusively  for 
steam  generating  purposes,  as  those  of  Franklin.  Probably 
more  coal  is  used  for  this  purpose  than  for  any  other.  A 
large  quantity  is  used  for  domestic  purposes.  Coke  making 
is  becoming  quite  a large  industry  and  several  of  the  mines  use 
a large  part  of  their  output  in  their  coke  ovens.  The  coke 
finds  a ready  sale,  being  more  suitable  for  certain  purposes. 
The  only  coal  now  used  for  gas  making  purposes  is  that  found 
at  Burnett.  -It  is  used  exclusively  in  the  Sound  cities  and 
in  Oregon  and  California.  It  gives  off  a high  percentage 
of  illuminating  gas  and  the  residue  cokes  readily.  A small 
vein  of  coal  has  been  found  at  Fairfax  suitable  for  blacksmithing 
and  this  finds  a market  at  a high  price. 

Eastern  Washington  is  largely  supplied  by  the  Roslyn  mines 
which  are  the  largest  in  the  state.  A considerable  quantity  of 
this  coal  finds  its  way  to  Seattle,  where  the  company  has  recently 
erected  large  coal  bunkers  to  take  care  of  their  export  trade.  A 
large  part  of  the  coal  of  western  Washington  is  shipped  to  San 
Francisco  and  other  coast  ports.  A considerable  quantity  is 
shipped  to  Alaska.  The  rise  of  the  petroleum  industry  in  Cali- 
fornia has  caused  a considerable  falling  off  of  the  coal  trade  with 
the  latter  section.  In  the  coastwise  trade  the  coal  of  Washington 
competes  with  that  of  British  Columbia  and  Oregon. 

WHATCOM  COUNTY. 

In  the  western  part  of  Whatcom  county,  extending  from  the 
foot  of  Mt.  Baker  to  the  coast,  there  is  an  area  of  Eocene  coal 


48 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey . 


measures  embracing  over  250  square  miles.  These  coal  measures 
are  composed  mainly  of  massive  sandstones  and  conglomerates, 
and  shales,  and  are  exclusively  of  lake  origin.  They  have  a total 
thickness  of  many  thousands  of  feet.  Within  them  very  much 
vegetal  matter  in  the  form  of  lignite  or  coal  is  to  be  found,  often 
in  irregular  masses  or  pockets,  but  now  and  then  in  a well-defined 
seam.  Occasionally  these  seams  assume  dimensions  sufficiently 
large  to  afford  workable  coal,  and  they  are  then  of  economic  im- 
portance. In  all  cases,  as  far  as  known,  the  beds  of  coal  are  not 
immediately  underlaid  by  clay,  but  by  conglomerate  or  sandstone, 
showing  that  the  coal  was  not  formed  by  the  plants  which  grew 
upon  that  particular  spot,  but  rather  that  it  was  formed  from 
drift  wood.  As  a result  no  individual  seam  of  coal  can  be  ex- 
pected to  extend  throughout  the  coal  basin,  or  even  over  a large 
part  of  it,  but  is  more  local  in  its  extent.  It  is  also  true  that  a 
coal  seam  will  show  considerable  variability  in  thickness  when 
followed  in  different  directions. 

Since  their  deposition  the  coal  measures  have  been  greatly 
folded  and  the  strata  are  now  inclined  at  high  angles.  Erosion 
has  removed  large  portions  of  them,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  wide 
valleys  of  the  Nooksack  and  its  tributaries,  in  the  basin  of  Lake 
Whatcom,  and  elsewhere.  In  the  eastern  and  central  parts  of 
the  Whatcom  coal  field  the  strata  outcrop  everywhere  and  the 
coal  beds  may  be  easily  found,  but  in  the  western  part  of  the  coal 
field  the  rocks  pass  under  a heavy  mantle  of  glacial  drift  and  may 
only  be  studied  or  prospected  by  diamond  drilling. 

In  the  Whatcom  coal  field  veins  of  workable  coal  have  been 
found  at  a number  of  places.  In  some  instances  extensive  mines 
have  been  opened  and  large  quantities  of  coal  produced.  In  a 
general  way  the  coal  may  be  said  to  improve  in  quality  from  west 
to  east,  as  one  passes  from  the  region  of  least  folded  rocks  to 
those  that  have  suffered  the  greatest  deformation.  The  coal  vein 
now  being  developed  on  Cornell  creek,  within  six  miles  of  Mt. 
Baker,  is  said  to  be  of  a better  quality  than  any  other  so  far  found 
in  this  field. 

The  Bellingham  bay  coal  vein  is  the  uppermost  one  in  the 
Whatcom  coal  field.  It  is  14  feet  thick,  a lignite  in  quality,  and 
was  extensively  worked  20  years  ago.  Its  outcrop  is  north 
through  the  middle  of  the  city  of  Whatcom  and  thence  north- 
westerly, dipping  west  and  southwest  from  8 to  10  degrees. 


49 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington. 

Blue  Canyon  District. 

The  Blue  Canyon  mine  is  located  on  the  southeastern  shore 
of  Lake  Whatcom,  on  the  railway  of  the  Bellingham  Bay  Im- 
provement Company.  The  vein  of  coal  that  is  being  worked 
varies  much  in  thickness,  but  averages  about  7 feet.  It  lies  at 
the  very  base  of  the  coal  measures,  being  separated  from  the 
mica  schist  lying  below  by  a layer  of  conglomerate  which  varies 
from  six  inches  to  three  feet  in  thickness.  Where  the  conglom- 
erate is  thinnest  the  coal  vein  is  greatly  broken  and  shattered, 
and  is  occasionally  faulted.  Lying  as  it  does  between  the  mas- 
sive sandstones  above  and  the  metamorphic  rocks  below  the  vein 
has  suffered  greatly  in  the  deformation  of  the  coal  measures. 
The  vein  pitches  to  the  northwestward  at  an  angle  of  50  or  60 
degrees. 

The  Blue  Canyon  mine  has  been  in  operation  for  a number  of 
years,  but  has  done  little  more  than  supply  the  demand  of  the 
cities  and  towns  of  Bellingham  bay  and  thereabouts.  The  coal 
is  very  desirable  for  steaming  and  for  domestic  purposes.  In 
1901  the  output  of  the  mine  was  48,200  tons. 

SKAGIT  COUNTY. 

In  the  western  half  of  Skagit  county  coal  measures  of  Eocene 
age  outcrop  at  a number  of  places.  Surrounding  these  out- 
crops, as  a rule,  there  are  small  coal  basins,  which  seemingly 
have  never  been  connected  but  have  always  been  separated  one 
from  another.  In  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county  the  large 
coal  field  of  Whatcom  county  extends  into  Skagit  for  a little 
way.  A mile  west  of  Thornwood,  on  Samish  river,  there  is  an 
outcrop  of  coal  where  a little  development  work  has  been  done. 
Immediately  east  of  Montborne  there  is  a small  area  of  coal 
measures  with  a few  coal  outcrops.  Near  Cokedale  and  Hamil- 
ton there  is  in  each  case  a coal  measure  area  in  which  well 
known  veins  of  coal  occur. 

The  coal-bearing  rocks  above  mentioned  are  composed  es- 
sentially of  shale,  sandstone  and  conglomerate,  with  very  much 
irregularly  embedded  vegetal  matter  in  the  form  of  lignite  or 
coal.  These  deposits  have  been  made  in  lakes  which  were  en- 
closed in  basins  of  metamorphic  rocks,  mainly  schists  and  slates. 
After  the  lake  sediments  accumulated  to  a great  thickness  they 
were  folded  to  such  an  extent  that  the  strata  are  now  often  in- 
clined at  high  angles.  Since  the  disappearance  of  the  lakes  the 


50 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


lacustrine  sediments  have  been  largely  removed  by  erosion,  and 
it  is  possible  that  the  removal  has  been  so  great  in  the  cases  of 
the  smaller  lake  deposits  that  some  of  these  have  not  yet  been 
discovered. 

Cokedale  District. 

At  the  town  of  Cokedale  a coal  mine  has  been  in  operation 
for  a number  of  years.  The  mine  is  located  at  the  extreme 
northern  limit  of  the  coal  basin,  the  lowest  vein  of  coal  being  but 
a few  feet  from  the  schist  which  lies  below.  The  coal  measures 
of  Cokedale  outcrop  along  the  northern  boundaries  of  the  district, 
but  for  the  most  part  they  are  covered  by  the  alluvial  deposits  of 
the  Skagit  river.  The  district  is  not  believed  to  be  a large  one, 
extending  from  Cokedale  southward  to  the  Skagit,  and  in  an  east 
and  west  direction  from  near  Lyman  to  a point  a little  way  be- 
yond Sedro-Woolley. 

At  the  Cokedale  mine  three  veins  of  coal  are  found,  viz. : the 
north  or  Klondike  vein,  the  middle  vein,  and  the  south  vein. 
The  north  vein  is  the  lowest  one  in  the  series  and  has  a thickness 
varying  from  io  to  25  feet;  the  middle  vein  lies  140  feet  above 
the  north  vein,  stratigraphically,  and  has  a thickness  of  from  4 
to  8 feet,  with  an  average  of  6 feet ; the  south  vein,  lying  40  feet 
above  the  middle  vein,  has  a thickness  varying  from  6 inches  to 
2*4  feet.  The  north  and  middle  veins  only  are  worked  at  the 
present  time. 

The  Cokedale  coal  veins  at  their  outcrops  stand  about  vertical, 
but  in  the  lower  mine  workings  they  dip  slightly  to  the  south- 
ward. In  the  deformation  of  the  coal  measures  the  coal  was  so 
greatly  broken  that  in  mining  it  it  is  obtained  only  in  small 
pieces,  and  never  in  large  lumps.  It  is  a good  coking  coal,  and  a 
large  part  of  it  is  made  into  coke.  The  coal  is  all  passed  through 
washers  after  leaving  the  mine ; the  coarser  part  is  then  used  for 
steaming  and  domestic  purposes,  while  the  finer  part  is  taken 
directly  to  the  coke  ovens  near  by.  The  ovens  are  of  the  bee 
hive  pattern,  each  having  a capacity  of  five  tons.  Forty  ovens 
are  in  place,  ten  of  which  were  operated  continuously  during  1901. 
In  1901  the  output  of  the  Cokedale  mine  consisted  of  12,643  tons 
of  coal  and  5,806  tons  of  coke. 

Hamilton  District. 

A few  miles  east  of  the  Cokedale  district,  and  near  the  town 
of  Hamilton,  is  a region  of  coal-bearing  rocks  known  as  the 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington. 


51 


Hamilton  district.  This  district  lies  chiefly  between  Cumberland 
and  Day  creeks,  and  extends  from  the  Skagit  river  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Deer  creek.  The  rock  outcrops  of  the  Cokedale  and 
Hamilton  districts,  are  separated  by  the  broad  alluvial  plain  of 
the  Skagit,  and  it  is  not  known  at  the  present  time  whether  the 
coal-bearing  rocks  extend  from  one  district  to  the  other. 

At  several  places  in  the  Hamilton  district  coal  veins  of  com- 
mercial importance  are  known  to  outcrop.  Upon  some  of  these 
veins  considerable  development  work  has  been  done,  and  in 
times  past  some  coal  has  been  mined  and  sold.  The  coal  is  of 
good  quality,  and  of  a variety  that  may  be  made  into  coke.  As 
a rule  the  coal  veins  lie  in  such  a position  that  they  may  be 
worked  very  readily. 

On  the  property  of  the  Skagit  Cumberland  Coal  Company 
and  on  the  lands  of  Mr.  J.  J.  Conner,  near  the  mouth  of  Cum- 
berland creek,  there  are  a number  of  outcropping  coal  veins. 
The  first  of  these  is  located  on  the  bank  of  Cumberland  creek, 
not  far  from  the  contact  of  the  coal  measures  with  the  underly- 
ing mica  schist.  This  vein  of  coal  has  a strike  of  south  43  de- 
grees east,  and  a southwest  pitch  of  55  degrees.  It  lies  between 
sandstone  walls,  and  has  a thickness  of  about  seven  feet  of  clean 
coal.  About  a hundred  feet  stratigraphically  above  the  vein 
just  mentioned,  is  a second  coal  seam  having  approximately  the 
same  dip  and  strike,  with  a thickness  of  over  five  feet.  Above 
the  outcrop  of  the  number  two  vein,  at  varying  heights  on  the 
mountain  side,  there  are  outcrops  of  several  other  veins  of  coal 
with  thicknesses  ranging  from  a few  inches  to  four  feet. 

Toward  the  southern  part  of  the  Hamilton  district,  in  the  re- 
gion about  Day  lake,  coal  outcrops  at  a number  of  places.  In  a 
few  instances  some  development  work  has  been  done.  In  sec- 
tions 13  and  24  T.  34  N.,  R.  6 E.,  the  coal  veins  have  a thick- 
ness varying  from  8 to  12  feet. 

KING  COUNTY. 

Newcastle-Issaquah  District. 

The  Newcastle-Issaquah  district  probably  constitutes  one 
continuous  coal  field.  The  Issaquah  mine,  formerly  known  as 
the  Gilman  mine,  is  located  at  the  northern  base  of  Squak  moun- 
tain, two  or  three  miles  from  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Sam- 
mamish, and  about  fifteen  miles  east  of  the  city  of  Seattle. 


52 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey . 


Squak  mountain  is  a mass  of  volcanic  rock  of  the  variety  known 
technically  as  pyroxene  andesite.  The  coal  measures  overlie  the 
lava  and  dip  to  the  northward  at  an  angle  of  from  twenty  to 
forty  degrees.  The  strike  of  the  strata  is  nearly  due  east  and 
west.  Only  one  fault  of  any  consequence  has  been  encountered 
in  the  Issaquah  mine,  and  that  has  not  seriously  interfered  with 
the  process  of  mining.  In  this  mine  the  workings  have  been 
pushed  westward  through  Squak  mountain,  under  the  valley  of 
Tibbetts  creek  and  into  the  Newcastle  hills. 

A branch  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  reaches  Issa- 
quah by  way  of  the  northern  end  of  Lake  Washington,  and  the 
coal  is  shipped  by  that  route.  The  mine  was  opened  by  the  Is- 
saquah Coal  and  Iron  Company  in  1887.  Their  holdings  embrace 
a tract  of  land  five  miles  long  by  one  and  a quarter  miles  wide. 
Up  to  the  present  time  they  have  worked  out  about  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  of  coal,  and  have  produced  altogether 
about  1,500,000  tons  of  coal.  The  output  for  1901  was  121,829 
tons.  It  is  expected  that  the  output  for  1902  will  be  considera- 
bly larger.  There  are  seven  known  veins  of  coal  on  the  prop- 
erty having  a thickness  respectively  of  four,  five,  six,  eight, 
nine,  twelve,  and  fourteen  feet. 

According  to  the  statement  of  C.  F.  Owen,  State  Inspector 
of  Coal  Mines,  the  coal  generates  very  little  gas  and  can  be 
worked  in  safety  with  open  lights.  It  is  used  very  largely  for 
steaming  and  domestic  purposes. 

On  the  Newcastle  side  of  the  mountain  the  principal  open- 
ings have  been  made  along  Coal  creek,  a small  stream  flowing 
northwestward  into  Lake  Washington.  Most  of  the  coal  has 
come  from  the  vicinity  of  the  town  of  Newcastle,  where  it  has 
been  mined  extensively  for  the  last  forty  years.  These  mines 
are  among  the  oldest  in  the  Puget  sound  region  and  have  up  to 
the  present  time  produced  about  five  millions  of  tons.  The  coal 
is  taken  out  by  way  of  the  Columbia  & Puget  Sound  Railway, 
which  reaches  Seattle  by  way  of  Renton  and  the  Duwamish  val- 
ley. Both  mines  and  railroad  belong  to  the  Pacific  Coast  Com- 
pany, formerly  the  Oregon  Improvement  Company.  The  present 
Newcastle  mine  was  opened  in  1895,  and  is  now  practically 
worked  out.  It  has  produced  altogether  nearly  600,000  tons  of 
coal.  There  are  five  veins,  having  a width  of  three  feet  four 
inches,  four  feet,  four  feet  six  inches,  six  feet  and  eight  feet,  re- 


COAL  BUNKERS,  SEATTLE 


Washington  Geoi^.g$cal  Survey.  Annual  Report,  1901.  Plate  XXIV. 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington.  53 

spectively,  and  there  are  about  ten  miles  of  gangways  and  slopes. 
The  breast  and  pillar  system  has  been  employed  in  the  mine. 
Most  of  the  coal  is  used  for  domestic  purposes  and  for  genera- 
ting steam. 

Since  the  Newcastle  mine  has  been  virtually  abandoned 
active  operations  have  been  transferred  to  the  new  Coal  Creek 
mine  about  a mile  and  a half  farther  up  the  stream.  This  mine 
was  opened  in  1898  and  up  to  January  1,  1902  had  produced 
about  300,000  tons.  The  daily  output  is  now  on  an  average  750 
tons.  For  the  year  1901  the  total  output  was  130,957  tons.  Four 
veins  are  being  worked,  two  of  them  three  feet  eight  inches  in 
width,  one  four  feet  two  inches,  and  one  five  feet.  In  the  pres- 
ent workings  the  veins  strike  approximately  east  and  west  and 
dip  north  thirty-eight  degrees.  A double  track  working  tunnel, 
seven  by  fourteen  feet  in  diameter,  has  been  driven  a distance  of 
5,400  feet.  There  are  altogether  about  three  miles  of  gangways. 
In  the  main  tunnel  electric  motors  are  employed  for  hauling, 
and  electric  lights  are  used.  The  breast  and  pillar  system  is 
the  one  adopted.  A 375  h.  p.  plant  generates  electricity  for 
hauling,  lighting,  ventilating,  running  the  air  compressor,  run- 
ning the  washing  machines,  etc.  The  company  uses  a rotary 
washer  of  their  own  manufacture. 

Renton-Cedar  River  District, 

The  depression  occupied  by  Lake  Washington  is  continued 
southward  first  as  Black  river  valley,  and  then  as  White  river 
valley.  Less  than  a mile  from  where  Black  river  leaves  Lake 
Washington  Cedar  river  enters  the  former  from  the  eastward, 
flowing  through  a narrow,  steep-sided  valley  for  a number  of 
miles  and  entering  the  broader  valley  at  the  town  of  Renton. 
Between  the  valleys  of  Cedar  river  and  White  river  there  is  a 
plateau  which  from  the  surface  indications  seems  to  be  com- 
posed entirely  of  glacial  drift.  It  has  an  average  elevation  of 
about  four  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  bordering  valleys. 
Along  the  steep  sided  northern  and  western  edges  of  this 
plateau,  especially  near  the  town  of  Renton,  the  coal  measures 
outcrop  from  beneath  the  covering  of  glacial  drift.  Seven  or 
eight  miles  farther  up  the  valley  of  Cedar  river  the  coal-bearing 
rocks  are  again  exposed  where  the  Cedar  mountain  mine  has 
been  opened.  On  the  northern  side  of  Black  river  between 


54 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Renton  and  the  Duwamish  river  the  coal  measures  appear  in  a 
nearly  horizontal  position. 

The  first  mine  to  be  operated  on  an  extensive  scale  in  the 
vicinity  of  Renton  was  the  old  Renton  mine,  which  was  opened 
by  a number  of  Seattle  pioneers  early  in  the  seventies.  This 
mine  has  long  since  been  worked  out,  as  has  also  the  Talbot 
mine,  opened  a year  or  two  later.  In  1895  the  Renton  Co-oper- 
ative Coal  Company  began  operations  on  a tract  of  unoccupied 
ground  between  the  two  old  mines.  They  afterwards  sold  out 
their  property  to  the  Seattle  Electric  Company.  The  new  own- 
ers are  now  working  on  two  veins,  No.  2 and  No.  3,  each  of 
which  is  about  six  feet  thick,  and  they  are  driving  a tunnel  to 
open  a third  vein.  There  are  about  9,000  feet  of  underground 
main  tracks.  The  pillar  and  stall  method  of  mining  is  employed. 
At  present  the  daily  output  averages  about  400  tons,  and  the  total 
output  for  1901  was  72,865  tons.  The  coal  is  used  mostly  for 
steaming  and  domestic  purposes.  It  is  washed  by  means  of 
Howe  washers.  All  the  hoisting,  pumping  and  lighting  is  done 
by  means  of  a 150  h.  p.  electric  plant. 

Eight  or  nine  miles  up  Cedar  river  from  Renton  is  the  Cedar 
mountain  mine.  The  first  openings  in  this  vicinity  wTere  made 
about  twenty  years  ago  and  for  a long  time  the  mine  was  a great 
producer,  but  the  principal  vein  was  lost  and  has  only  recently 
been  rediscovered.  The  Cedar  Mountain  Coal  Company  ob- 
tained control  of  the  property  in  1898  and  since  that  time  has 
been  working  on  an  eight-foot  vein.  The  total  output  for  1901 
was  13,500  tons. 

Green  River  District. 

A thick  section  of  the  coal  measures  is  exposed  in  the  can- 
yon of  Green  river,  T.  21  N.,  R.  6 and  7 E.  There  are  alto- 
gether forty  beds  of  carbonaceous  matter  included  in  this  section, 
but  only  four  of  them  are  productive  coal  beds.  These  out- 
crops were  discovered  about  1880,  and  two  or  three  years  later 
the  Franklin  and  Black  Diamond  collieries  were  opened.  The 
only  vein  that  is  now  worked  very  extensively  is  the  McKay 
vein,  otherwise  known  as  the  Light  Ash  or  White  Ash  vein 
The  strata  in  this  district  are  thrown  into  long  open  folds,  and 
the  whole  series  inclines  to  the  southwest.  Several  faults  have 
been  encountered  in  the  course  of  mining  and  in  each  case  the 
hanging  wall  has  slid  downwards.  Three  of  these  normal  faults 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington.  55 

occur  in  the  Black  Diamond  mine.  In  the  Franklin  mine  there 
are  a number  of  small  faults.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  field 
where  the  greatest  disturbance  has  taken  place  in  the  rocks  the 
coal  has  become  highly  bituminous,  while  in  the  northwestern 
section  where  the  rocks  remain  more  nearly  in  their  original  po- 
sition, the  coal  remains  a lignite. 

The  Gem  mine  at  Franklin,  belonging  to  the  Pacific  Coast 
Company,  was  opened  in  1899  and  has,  up  to  date,  produced 
75,000  tons  of  coal.  The  total  output  for  the  year  1901  was 
36,460  tons.  It  has  now  a daily  output  of  180  tons.  The  vein 
which  the  company  is  now  working  has  a thickness  of  two  feet 
seven  inches  of  good,  clean  coal.  In  the  present  workings  the 
vein  strikes  nearly  due  north  and  south  and  dips  thirty-five  de- 
grees to  the  west.  It  is  said  that  the  vein  can  be  traced  for 
three  miles  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  An  estimate  of  the 
coal  still  to  be  mined  places  the  amount  at  about  2,500,000  tons. 
The  total  length  of  underground  workings  is  not  far  from  3,000 
feet.  A 75  h.  p.  steam  engine  is  used  for  hoisting  and  ventilating. 
The  chute  and  pillar  system  of  mining  is  employed  altogether. 

The  Franklin  No.  1 and  No.  2 was  operated  for  a number  of 
years,  but  was  flooded  and  abandoned  some  time  ago.  It  is 
now  being  reopened  and  will  be  operated  again  on  an  extensive 
scale  in  the  near  future.  Since  starting  again  it  shipped,  prior 
to  January  1,  1902,  4,494  tons,  and  has  now  a daily  output  of  50 
tons.  Two  veins  are  being  worked,  one  four  feet  and  the  other 
nine  feet  in  thickness.  They  are  worked  on  the  chute  and  pil- 
lar system.  A 500  h.  p.  steam  plant  is  employed  for  hoisting, 
ventilating,  pumping,  and  operating  the  coal  washing  machinery. 
It  also  runs  the  air  compressor,  which  is  used  for  running  the 
drills  and  other  mining  machines.  The  coal  washers  are  of  the 
rotary  pattern  and  are  the  company’s  own  manufacture.  The 
coal  is  nearly  all  used  on  locomotives  and  steamers.  The  mine 
is  the  property  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Company. 

Franklin  No.  7,  opened  in  1895,  has  produced  about  700,000 
tons  of  coal  up  to  the  present  time  and  has  now  a daily  output 
of  300  tons.  The  the  total  output  for  the  year  1901  was  88,217 
tons.  One  vein  is  being  worked  which  has  a thickness  of  four 
feet  six  inches.  There  is  a 500  h.  p.  plant  for  hoisting,  pump- 
ing, ventilating  and  lighting.  The  slope  has  now  been  driven 
in  a distance  of  3000  feet  and  there  are  altogether  about  five 


56 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


miles  of  gangway.  Electricity  is  used  for  lighting  wherever 
possible.  The  breast  and  pillar  system  of  mining  is  employed. 
The  coal  is  used  largely  for  steam  generating  purposes  in  steam- 
ers and  manufacturing  plants. 

The  Lawson  mine  near  Black  Diamond,  which  is  also  the 
property  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Company,  was  opened  in  1895  and 
has  had  a total  output  up  to  the  present  time  of  260,000  tons. 
The  company  is  working  on  vein  No.  1,  better  known  as  the 
McKay  vein,  which  is  four  feet  and  four  inches  in  thickness,  all  of 
clean  coal.  There  is  now  being  mined  on  an  average  400  tons  per 
day.  The  coal  is  used  very  largely  on  steamers  and  in  factories; 
also  for  domestic  purposes.  There  are  now  three  miles  of  under- 
ground gangways,  and  a slope  fourteen  hundred  feet  long. 
All  the  mining  is  done  on  the  chute  and  pillar  system.  Steam 
power  of  375  h.  p.  is  used  for  operating  the  hoisting,  ventilating, 
pumping  and  other  mine  machinery.  Electricity  is  used  for 
lighting  wherever  possible.  It  is  estimated  that  the  mine  still 
contains  about  5,000,000  tons  of  coal.  For  the  year  1901  the 
output  was  97,329  tons. 

The  Black  Diamond  mine  was  first  opened  about  nineteen 
years  ago.  The  property  is  now  being  operated  from  two  open- 
ings on  the  McKay  vein,  known  as  Mine  14  and  Morgan’s  Slope. 
The  coal  is  good,  clean  steaming  coal  and  requires  very  little 
picking  or  washing.  It  produced  in  1901,  227,000  tons. 

The  Seattle  & San  Francisco  Railway  Company’s  mine  at 
Ravensdale,  formerly  known  as  Leary,  was  opened  two  or  three 
years  ago  when  the  district  was  given  transportation  facilities  by 
the  construction  of  the  Palmer  cut-off  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
railway.  It  is  situated  seven  or  eight  miles  west  of  Palmer. 
Four  veins  are  now  being  worked.  Prior  to  1901  the  mine 
shipped  48,000  tons  and  for  1901  the  total  output  was  63,578 
tons.  The  company  has  lately  constructed  large  coal  bunkers 
at  West  Seattle. 

PIERCE  COUNTY. 

W ilkeson-Carbonado  District. 

This  field  lies  about  midway  between  the  city  of  Tacoma  and 
Mount  Rainier.  All  of  the  producing  mines  are  in  the  extreme 
northern  part  of  the  field  and  not  far  from  the  main  line  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway.  Carbon  river,  which  derives  its  name 
from  the  numerous  outcroppings  of  coal  along  its  course,  flows 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington.  57 

for  about  eight  miles  through  the  district.  Just  above  the  town 
of  Carbonado  the  river  flows  through  a steep  sided  canyon  in 
volcanic  rock,  but  at  the  town  and  for  a mile  or  two  down  the 
river  the  coal  series  is  exposed.  Other  sections  occur  along 
Gale  creek  and  South  Prairie  creeks,  tributaries  of  Carbon  river. 
The  hills  are  covered  with  glacial  drift  to  a depth  of  from  fifty 
to  three  hundred  feet.  In  addition  to  this  the  whole  region  is 
very  heavily  timbered,  so  that  surface  prospecting  can  be  car- 
ried on  only  along  the  stream  channels.  Measurements  made 
by  Mr.  Bailey  Willis,*  of  the  sections  exposed  along  the  streams 
and  in  the  mine  workings  showed  a thickness  of  8,000  feet  of 
barren  measures  lying  above  the  productive  coal  beds. 

Coal  was  first  discovered  on  Carbon  river  forty  years  ago, 
and  the  first  location  was  made  by  Flett  Brothers  and  their 
brother-in-law  Gale,  about  ten  or  twelve  years  later,  that  is,  in 
1874.  They  made  the  first  opening  on  Gale  creek  about  half  a 
mile  above  the  present  town  of  Wilkeson.  A wagon  road  was 
constructed  from  South  Prairie  to  the  mine  and  a number  of 
tons  of  coal  hauled  to  Tacoma. 

The  Burnett  mine  is  the  most  northerly  one  now  operated  in 
this  field.  It  was  opened  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Burnett  in  December, 
1881,  and  has  now  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  South  Prairie 
Coal  Company.  A short  branch  line  connects  the  mine  with  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway  at  Cascade  Junction.  Four  veins  have 
been  worked  to  a greater  or  less  extent,  but  there  are  only  two 
at  present  from  which  coal  is  being  taken.  They  are  both  about 
three  feet  in  thickness.  The  total  output  since  the  mine  was 
first  opened  is  estimated  at  930,000  tons.  At  the  present  time 
about  300  tons  per  day  are  being  shipped.  The  total  length  of 
underground  workings  is  at  least  two  miles.  The  coal  is  used 
for  domestic  purposes,  for  steaming,  and  for  the  manufacture  of 
gas.  The  coal  is  washed  by  means  of  Howe  washers.  A 300 
h.  p.  steam  power  plant  is  employed  for  hoisting,  pumping,  etc. 
Seventy-seven  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  tons  were 
produced  in  1901. 

The  Wilkson  mine,  operated  by  the  Wilkeson  Coal  and  Coke 
Company,  is  on  a branch  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railway 
about  thirty-one  miles  from  Tacoma  and  two  miles  south  of  Bur- 
nett. It  was  opened  in  1879  and  at  the  present  time  there  are 


•Willis:  Coal  Fields  of  Puget  Sound,  18th  Ann.  Rep.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey. 


58 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


about  six  miles  of  water  level  gangways.  The  estimated  total 
output  since  the  mine  was  started  is  1,000,000  tons.  The  daily 
output  now  is  500  tons.  Six  veins  are  being  worked,  having  an 
average  thickness  of  six  feet  each.  The  chute  and  pillar  system 
of  mining  is  employed.  Forrester  patent  washers  are  used.  The 
power  consists  of  two  steam  stationary  engines  of  130  h.  p.  and 
two  locomotives.  Mules  are  employed  underground.  The  com- 
pany has  a large  coking  plant  in  operation  and  most  of  the  out- 
put of  the  mine  is  converted  into  coke.  There  are  fifty  ovens 
built  on  the  bee  hive  pattern,  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  which  turn 
out  about  seventy  tons  of  coke  per  day.  Fifty  more  ovens  are 
being  erected  which  will  give  a total  daily  output  of  100  tons.  In 
the  year  1900,  47,615  tons  of  coal  were  converted  into  29,309  tons 
of  coke.  For  the  year  1901  the  total  output  was  125,028  tons  of 
coal.  The  veins  which  are  now  being  worked  outcrop  on  the 
surface  along  Gale  creek  in  the  western  part  of  section  27.  The 
strata  here  are  bent  into  a broad,  low  arch  with  a number  of 
smaller  folds.  Operations  have  been  conducted  on  each  side  of 
the  main  arch  and  a number  of  faults  have  been  encountered. 
The  present  company  operating  the  mine  owns  the  land  on  the 
western  side  of  the  arch.  On  the  eastern  side  where  the  veins 
dip  to  the  eastward  the  land  belongs  to  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railway  Company,  but  is  worked  by  the  Wilkeson  Coal  and  Coke 
Company  on  a royalty  in  connection  with  their  own  property. 
Only  one  quarter  of  the  available  coal  above  water-level  has  been 
worked  out  and  there  are  several  millions  of  tons  below  water- 
level  that  can  be  mined  at  a profit. 

The  Carbonado  mines  are  opened  about  two  miles  south  of 
Wilkeson  on  Carbon  river,  which  here  flow’s  through  a canyon 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep.  The  railroad  was  ex- 
tended from  Wilkeson  to  Carbonado  about  the  year  1880  and 
shipments  of  coal  at  once  began.  Four  veins  are  now  being 
worked  which  have  a thickness  of  four  feet  six  inches,  five  to  six 
feet  six  inches,  five  feet,  and  seven  feet  four  inches  respectively. 
The  total  output  has  been  over  four  millions  of  tons.  The  out- 
put for  1901  was  323,395  tons.  A battery  of  75  coke  ovens  is 
being  installed. 

The  Gale  Creek  Company  and  the  Willis  Coal  Company  are 
opening  up  new  mines  in  the  district.  The  Gale  Creek  Com- 
pany is  working  five  veins  from  three  to  seven  feet  thick,  and 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington.  59 

has  taken  out  about  one  hundred  thousand  tons  of  first-class 
steaming  and  gas  coal.  Their  output  for  1901  was  18,900  tons. 
The  Willis  company  has  six  veins,  from  three  to  six  feet  thick, 
and  has  taken  out  several  thousand  tons. 

The  Western  America  Company,  operating  the  Fairfax  coal 
mine,  has  built  a railroad  seven  and  a half  miles  long  to  connect 
with  the  Northern  Pacific  at  Carbonado.  They  began  operations 
in  January,  1900,  and  are  now  producing  about  two  hundred 
tons  per  day.  For  the  year  1901  their  output  was  30,513  tons. 
Three  veins  are  being  worked  : No.  2,  six  feet  thick,  No.  3,  six 
feet  eight  inches  thick,  and  Blacksmith  vein,  two  feet  six  inches 
thick.  A water-power  plant  of  125  h.  p.  is  used  to  generate 
electricity  for  lighting,  hauling,  etc.  There  are  now  about 
3,000  feet  of  gangways  with  smaller  workings  to  match.  The 
diamond  system  of  mining  is  principally  employed.  The  com- 
pany has  gone  into  the  coking  industry  on  an  extensive  scale. 
They  have  now  in  operation  sixty  bee-hive  ovens  thirteen  feet  in 
diameter  and  seven  feet  in  height.  Besides  being  made  into 
coke,  the  coal  is  very  largely  used  for  blacksmithing  and  for 
steam  making. 

The  Montezuma  mine  has  been  opened  in  section  2,  T.  17 
N.,  R.  6 E.  Work  was  begun  in  February,  1901,  and  up  to  the 
present  time  about  800  feet  of  entries  and  airways  have  been 
driven.  No  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  stope  out  the  coal 
and  no  shipments  have  been  made,  but  in  the  course  of  driving 
the  entries  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  tons  of  coal  per  day  are 
taken  out.  The  long  wall  system  of  mining  will  be  employed. 
The  company  has  ordered  one  hundred  bee-hive  coke  ovens  and 
as  soon  as  these  arrive  most  of  the  output  of  the  mine  will  be 
converted  into  coke.  A 400  h.  p.  turbine  wheel  has  been  in- 
stalled, and  all  the  hoisting,  hauling,  etc.,  will  be  done  by  water 
power.  Three  veins  are  being  worked,  having  a thickness  of 
three  feet  six  inches,  seven  feet  and  nine  feet,  respectively. 
Two  rock  tunnels  are  being  driven  which  will  crosscut  two  or 
three  more  veins,  one  five  feet,  one  nine  feet  and  another  of  un- 
known thickness. 

KITTITAS  COUNTY. 

Roslyn-Clealum  District. 

The  Roslyn  and  Clealum  coal  field,  situated  in  the  north- 
western portion  of  Kittitas  county,  on  the  line  of  the  Northern 


&-IV 


60 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Pacific  Railway,  is  separated  from  the  coal  fields  of  western 
Washington  by  the  main  range  of  the  Cascade  mountains. 

The  coal  occurs  in  a series  of  light  colored  sandstones  to 
which  the  name  “Roslyn  sandstone”  has  been  given.  This 
formation  is  underlaid  by  a series  of  sheets  of  basaltic  lava, 
which  in  turn  are  underlaid  by  other  sandstones.  The  thick- 
ness of  the  Roslyn  sandstone  has  been  estimated  as  at  least 
3,500  feet.*  Fossil  plants  from  the  Roslyn  coal  mine  and  from 
other  coal  seams  about  Clealum  have  been  identified  by  Pro- 
fessor F.  H.  Knowlton  as  being  of  Eocene  age.  This  makes 
the  Roslyn  coal  roughly  contemporaneous  in  origin  with  the 
coals  of  western  Washington. 

The  Roslyn  coal  mine,  owned  and  operated  by  the  North- 
western Improvement  Company,  is  the  largest  in  the  state. 
A branch  road  three  or  four  miles  long  runs  from  the  main  line 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  at  Clealum  to  this  mine.  The 
mine  was  first  opened  in  1885  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Coal  Com- 
pany, which  was  afterwards  reorganized  as  the  Northwestern 
Improvement  Company.  The  coal  vein  is  four  feet  eight  inches 
in  thickness  and  dips  at  Roslyn  from  thirteen  to  twenty-six  de- 
grees to  the  southwest.  It  is  bituminous  and  an  excellent 
steaming  coal.  The  output  for  1901  was  1,005,027  tons,  having 
a value  at  the  mine  of  over  $1,500,000.  Up  to  November  1, 
1901,  the  total  output  since  the  opening  of  the  mine  was  5,826,- 
727  tons,  taken  from  an  area  of  about  one  thousand  acres.  A 
conservative  estimate  of  the  Northwestern  Improvement  Com- 
pany’s holding  of  ten  thousand  acres  places  the  total  amount  of 
coal  still  remaining  at  forty-seven  millions  of  tons.|  The  Ros- 
lyn vein  is  supposed  to  extend  under  the  entire  Clealum  valley 
at  a depth  of  eleven  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  feet.  It  occu- 
pies a shallow  syncline  with  an  east  and  west  axis. 

The  Clealum  mine,  operated  by  the  same  company  as  the 
Roslyn  mine,  was  opened  in  1894.  The  vein  upon  which  they 
are  now  working  occurs  higher  in  the  series  than  the  Roslyn 
vein.  It  is  from  four  and  one  half  feet  to  five  and  one  half  feet 
thick  and  dips  southward  at  an  angle  of  about  fourteen  degrees. 

The  Ellensburg  Coal  Mining  Company  has  operated  a mine 

* Geology  of  the  Cascade  Mountins  in  Northern  Washington,  I.  C.  Russell,  20th  Ann. 
Rep.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey. 

1 9th  Biennial  Report,  State  Inspector  of  Coal  Mines,  C.  F.  Owen,  1901. 


NO.  4 OPENING  AND  ELECTRIC  LIGHTING  PLANT  AT  ROSLYN  COAL  MINES. 


Washington  Geological  Survey.  Annual  Report.  1901.  Plate  XXIII. 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington. 


61 


in  a small  way  situated  two  miles  north  of  Clealum.  The  vein 
is  four  feet  thick. 

Other  coal  outcrops  occur  on  the  Teanaway  river  north  of 
Clealum,  on  Frost  creek,  on  First  creek,  Naneum  creek  and  on 
Williams  creek.*  Not  much  development  work  has  been  done 
on  any  of  these  properties,  so  it  is  not  known  at  present  whether 
or  not  the  coal  occurs  in  commercial  quantities. 

THURSTON  COUNTY. 

Bucoda-Tenino  District. 

The  Bucoda-Tenino  district  lies  in  the  southern  portion  of 
Thurston  county.  Its  boundaries  are  not  definitely  fixed  in  any 
direction.  A large  part  of  its  surface  area  is  composed  of  flat 
river  bottom  and  barren  gravel  plains,  and  it  is  only  where  the 
coal-bearing  formation  appears  at  the  surface  along  the  hillsides 
and  on  higher  ground  that  it  is  possible  to  discover  any  outcrop- 
pings of  coal. 

Coal  was  first  discovered  in  the  valley  of  the  Skookumchuck 
in  1855.  It  was  mined  in  the  vicinity  of  Bucoda  in  early  terri- 
torial days,  the  convicts  of  the  penitentiary  being  employed  for 
that  purpose.  The  early  mines  are  now  closed  down  and  it  is 
difficult  to  get  definite  information  regarding  them. 

The  Chehalis  and  Skookumchuck  rivers  flow  through  wide, 
level  valleys.  Hills  of  sedimentary  rocks  belonging  to  the  coal- 
bearing series  border  the  valleys  and  rise  to  heights  of  several 
hundred  feet.  During  late  glacial  time  the  melting  of  the  great 
ice  mass  which  occupied  the  basin  of  Puget  sound  caused  a tre- 
mendous flood  of  water  to  sweep  southward  over  this  region. 
This  great  river  was  heavily  loaded  with  sediments  of  all  degrees 
of  coarseness,  which  it  dropped  by  the  wayside  as  it  passed 
along.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  field  in  the  vicinity  of  Tenino 
the  gravel  is  quite  coarse,  and  water-worn  boulders  are  scattered 
everywhere.  Traveling  southward  into  Lewis  county  the  ma- 
terial gets  finer  and  finer  until  in  the  vicinity  of  Chehalis  it  is  a 
fine  sandy  loam  with  no  gravel.  South  of  Chehalis  there  are  no 
signs  of  glacial  action  whatever. 

The  Great  Western  Coal  Company,  of  Spokane,  have  a mine 
about  four  miles  southwest  of  Tenino  in  section  35,  T.  16  N.,  R. 

♦Geology  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  in  Northern  Washington,  I.  C.  Russell,  20th  Ann. 
Rep.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey. 


62  Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


2 W.  Considerable  prospecting  work  has  been  done  with  a dia- 
mond drill.  A tunnel  three  hundred  feet  long  has  been  driven 
and  crosscuts  made.  The  vein  upon  which  they  are  working  is 
about  three  feet  six  inches  in  thickness.  At  the  present  time  the 
coal  is  hauled  to  the  railroad  in  wagons,  and  about  two  car  loads 
a week  are  shipped.  The  coal  is  said  to  be  of  good  quality.  It 
is  a lignite  like  all  the  rest  of  the  coal  in  this  field. 

The  Seatco  coal  mine  was  opened  in  1880  near  the  town  of 
Seatco,  the  name  of  which  was  afterwards  changed  to  Bucoda. 
It  was  operated  with  convict  labor  taken  from  the  territorial 
penitentiary,  which  was  at  that  time  located  at  Seatco.  Public 
sentiment  was  hostile  to  the  enterprise,  however,  so  that  the 
convict  system  was  soon  discontinued  and  the  mine  closed  down. 
Of  the  original  penitentiary  company,  composed  of  Messrs. 
Billings,  Smith  and  Shead,  Mr.  Billings  is  the  only  surviving 
member.  They  operated  on  an  eight  foot  vein  of  coal  and  took 
out  altogether  about  ten  thousand  tons. 

LEWIS  COUNTY. 

Chehalis-Centralia  District. 

The  two  towns  of  Chehalis  and  Centralia  lie  about  four  miles 
apart,  on  a wide  river  plain.  Along  the  sides  of  the  valley  coal 
outcroppings  have  been  found  and  a number  of  openings  have 
been  made,  but  none  of  them  have  developed  into  extensive 
mines.  A little  coal  is  being  taken  out  to  supply  the  local  de- 
mand. Nearly  all  of  it  is  used  for  domestic  purposes.  The 
electric  power  plant  of  Chehalis  uses  it  for  making  steam. 

In  the  hill  back  of  the  town  of  Chehalis  a number  of  prospects 
have  been  opened  up  in  the  past.  Several  years  ago  prospects 
were  opened  up  on  the  Rosenthal  property,  but  they  have  since 
been  closed.  At  the  present  time  there  is  one  small  mine  work- 
ing about  a mile  from  town  in  Sec.  29,  T.  14  N.,  R.  2 W.  It  is 
operated  by  Miller  Brothers.  They  have  driven  a tunnel  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  on  a vein  which  measures  four  feet 
three  inches  in  thickness  and  dips  about  forty-five  degrees.  They 
began  work  in  October,  1901,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  had 
taken  out  about  four  hundred  and  thirty  tons.  The  coal  is  all 
sold  in  the  town  of  Chehalis.  It  is  a lignite  of  fair  quality,  but 
leaves  a large  amount  of  ash. 

There  is  only  one  coal  mine  operating  at  present  in  the  vicinity 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington. 


63 


of  Centralia.  It  is  the  Salzer  Valley  Coal  Mine,  situated  in  Sec. 
22,  T.  14  N.,  R.  2 W.,  about  four  miles  east  of  Centralia.  This 
mine  has  been  operated  in  a small  way  by  Mr.  Marion  Howell  for 
the  last  four  years.  For  the  last  three  months  of  the  year  1901 
the  output  was  267  tons.  The  vein  is  five  feet  six  inches  in  width 
and  lies  nearly  horizontal.  A tunnel  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
long  has  been  driven.  The  coal  is  hauled  in  wagons  to  Centralia 
and  Chehalis  and  sold  for  domestic  purposes. 

A new  mine  is  being  opened  up  by  the  Sterling  Company  in 
the  Hanaford  valley  in  T.  14  N.,  R.  1 W.,  about  eight  miles  east 
of  Centralia.  A railroad  will  be  built  from  the  mine  to  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway,  a distance  of  a little  more  than  nine 
miles.  The  junction  will  be  about  a mile  and  a half  north  of 
Centralia.  The  company  owns  nine  hundred  acres  of  coal  lands. 
Three  veins  will  be  worked,  the  first  seven  feet  four  inches  thick, 
the  second  fourteen  feet  thick,  and  the  third  five  feet  eight  inches 
thick.  The  coal  is  a lignite  and  is  said  to  have  a low  percentage 
of  ash.  At  the  point  where  the  veins  are  being  opened  up  they 
dip  about  eleven  degrees  from  the  horizontal. 

The  old  Florence  or  Ellsbury  mine  is  now  closed  down.  It 
was  worked  for  a number  of  years  and  had  a total  output  of  about 
ten  or  fifteen  thousand  tons.  It  was  finally  abandoned  seven  or 
eight  years  ago. 

Some  coal  was  taken  out  of  another  mine  on  Sec.  3,  T.  14  N., 
R.  2 W.,  but  it  was  also  abandoned  about  four  years  ago. 

To  the  eastward  coal  outcrops  have  been  found  at  intervals 
nearly  all  the  way  to  the  summit  of  the  Cascades.  At  several 
different  places  extensive  development  work  has  been  done.  In 
the  western  part  of  the  field  the  coal  is  lignite,  but  as  it  ap- 
proaches the  Cascades  it  is  said  to  develop  into  bituminous  coal 
and  finally  into  anthracite. 

COWLITZ  COUNTY. 

Kelso-Castle  Rock  District. 

The  Kelso-Castle  Rock  coal  field  embraces  nearly  all  of  the 
northwestern  part  of  Cowlitz  county.  The  Cowlitz  river  runs 
north  and  south  through  the  center  of  it.  The  country  is,  for  the 
most  part,  very  heavily  timbered  and  the  hills  are  worn  into  low, 
rounded  forms  so  that  the  solid  rock  does  not  show  in  many 
places.  The  soft  coal  bearing  rocks  have  been  decomposed  to 


64 


Annual  Report  Washington  Geological  Survey. 


considerable  depths  and  a residual  soil  many  feet  in  thickness 
has  been  formed.  For  this  reason  the  boundaries  of  these  rocks 
are  not  definitely  known.  It  is  probable  that  as  the  district  be- 
comes better  known  the  boundaries  of  the  area  of  productive 
coal  measures  will  be  greatly  extended. 

Throughout  this  part  of  its  course  the  Cowlitz  river  flows 
through  a flat  alluvial  valley  a mile  or  two  in  width,  bordered  by 
low  hills  which  gradually  increase  in  height  as  they  recede  from 
the  river.  The  tide  flows  up  the  river  several  miles  above  Kelso. 
At  Rocky  Point  and  at  Castle  Rock  bold  bluffs  of  hard  basaltic 
lava  extend  out  into  the  valley.  In  the  vicinity  of  Kelso  and 
higher  up  the  river  there  are  the  remants  of  a rocky  bench  or 
terrace  about  fifty  feet  in  height  above  the  level  floor  of  the  valley. 

The  coal  bearing  rocks  are  sandstones  and  shales  probably 
of  Eocene  age.  They  have  been  upturned  from  their  original 
horizontal  position  only  to  a slight  degree.  Along  the  Cowlitz 
river  the  rocks  are  thrown  into  gentle  folds.  A large  number  of 
coal  seams  have  been  found  at  different  places  varying  from  a 
few  inches  to  six  or  eight  feet  in  thickness. 

The  Anchor  mine  was  opened  in  1890  by  the  Anchor  Coal 
and  Development  Company,  of  San  Francisco.  It  is  located  in 
Sec.  13,  T.  8 N.,  R.  2 W.,  about  three  miles  northeast  of  Kelso. 
Two  veins  were  worked,  one  about  four  feet  and  the  other  five  feet 
in  thickness.  A narrow  gauge  railroad  three-quarters  of  a mile 
long  ran  from  the  mine  to  the  Cowlitz  river  where  the  coal  was 
loaded  on  barges  and  shipped  to  Portland  and  other  places. 
Although  a large  amount  of  money  was  spent,  the  mine  did  not 
turn  out  to  be  a success.  It  was  finally  abandoned  about  1898. 

The  Coal  Creek  Development  Company,  of  The  Dalles, 
Oregon,  is  opening  up  a coal  prospect  on  Coal  creek,  about  eight 
miles  west  of  Kelso.  A standard  gauge  railroad  is  being  built 
from  the  mine  to  tide  water,  a distance  of  four  miles,  where  the 
coal  will  be  loaded  on  barges  and  shipped  to  Portland. 

The  Oregon  Coal  and  Timber  Company,  Joseph  Gaston, 
president,  W.  T.  Webber,  superintendent,  has  obtained  posses- 
sion of  the  old  Idleman  mine,  situated  in  Secs.  12  and  13,  T.  9 
N.,  R.  2 W.,  about  a mile  and  a half  east  of  Castle  Rock.  The 
mine  was  first  opened  up  by  Mr.  C.  M.  Idleman,  a number  of 
years  ago.  It  was  worked  in  a small  way  until  1893,  when  it 
closed  down  on  account  of  litigation.  The  new  company  began 


65 


The  Coal  Deposits  of  Washington. 

operations  late  in  the  autumn  of  1901.  The  old  workings  have 
been  pumped  out  and  preparations  are  now  being  made  to  de- 
velop the  mines  on  an  extensive  scale.  Several  veins  are  being 
opened  up,  one  four  feet  six  inches,  another  four  feet  one  inch, 
and  a third  six  feet  in  thickness,  respectively.  Still  other  veins 
of  unknown  thickness  outcrop  at  points  below.  A standard 
gauge  railroad  from  the  mine  to  the  Cowlitz  river  is  partly  com- 
pleted. An  incline  seven  hundred  feet  in  length  has  been  driven 
and  a number  of  crosscuts  made.  The  coal  is  a brown  lignite 
with  very  little  sulphur  and  a small  percentage  of  ash.  It  will 
be  shipped  in  barges  to  Portland. 

Another  mine  known  as  the  Red  Ash  mine  was  opened  up 
several  years  ago  on  Arkansas  creek,  about  two  or  three  miles 
west  of  Castle  Rock.  A considerable  amount  of  coal  was 
shipped  to  Portland  and  other  places,  where  it  is  said  to  have 
given  good  satisfaction.  It  was  closed  down  about  two  years 
ago,  but  negotiations  are  now  pending  whereby  it  will  be  opened 
again.  The  vein  that  was  worked  is  said  to  be  seven  feet  in 
thickness.  A shaft  has  been  sunk  and  an  incline  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  length  driven  on  the  vein. 

The  Carbondale  mine,  three  miles  southeast  of  Castle  Rock, 
in  Sec.  24,  T.  9 N.,  R.  1 W.,  has  been  developed  to  some  ex- 
tent. It  belongs  to  Portland  parties.  No  coal  has  yet  been 
shipped  from  this  prospect. 

Another  prospect  upon  which  work  has  been  done  lies  in  the 
NW.  % Sec.  24,  T.  10  N.,  R.  1 W.,  on  Toutle  river,  three  or 
four  miles  from  the  Cowlitz.  Other  prospect  holes  have  been 
sunk  on  Sec.  24,  T.  9 N.,  R.  1 W.,  and  in  Secs.  8 and  18,  T.  10 
N.,  R.  1 E. 


Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Annual  Report.  1901.  Plate  XXV. 


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SECTIONS  OF  COAL  SEAMS.  WITH  COAL  ANALYSES. 


Washington  Geological  Survey. 


Annual  Report.  1901.  Plate  XXVI. 


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SECTIONS  OF  COAL  SEAMS.  WITH  CO  L ANALYSES. 


Washington  Geological  Survey. 


annual  Report,  1901.  Plate  XXVII. 


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SECTIONS  OF  COAL  SEAMS.  WITH  COAL  ANALYSES. 


mr>:KX. 


Page. 

Analyses  of — 

Black  Hills  Iron  Ores 19 

Clealum  Iron  Ores 27 

Hamilton  Iron  Ores 19 

Iron  Ores  of  U.  S.  and  Cuba 14 

Lake  Cushman  Iron  Ores 18 

Snoqualmie  Pass  Iron  Ores 25 

Stevens  County  Iron  Ores 36 

W ashington  Iron  Ores 9,  10 

Anchor  Mine 64 

Black  Diamond  Mine 56 

Black  Hills 19 

Blue  Canyon  Mine 49 

Bucoda  Mine 61 

Burnett  Mine 57 

Capital  Mine 36,  38 

Carbonado  Mine 58 

Carbondale  Mine 65 

Cedar  River  Mine 53 

Chehalis  Mine 62 

Clealum  District 27 

Clealum  Mine 60 

Clugston  Creek  District 37 

Coal  Deposits  of  Washington 41 

Coal  Measures,  Geology  of 43 

Coal,  Varieties  and  Uses  of 46 

CokedaleMine 50 

Colville  District 36 

Cowlitz  County  Coal  Fields 63 

Denny  Mine 25,  26 

Emerson  Mine 27,  30 

Fairfax  Mine 59 

Franklin  Mine 55 

Fulmer,  E.,  Analyses  by 24,  26 

Gale  Creek  Mine 58 

Geology  of  Coal  Measures 43 

Green  River  Mines 54 

Guye  Mine 25,  26 

Hamilton  District  — 

Coal  Mines  of 50 

Iron  Ores  of  19 

Hamilton  Mine 19,22,  23 

Hardscrabble  Mine 27,  30 

Idleman  Mine 64 

Inaugural  Mine 19,21,22  23 

Irondale  Plant 5 

Iron  Manufacture 5 

Iron  Mining 5,  16 

Iron  Monarch  Mine 27,  31 

6— IV 


Iron  Ores  — Page. 

Analyses  of 9 

Character  of 11 

Commercial  Value  of 11 

Distribution  of 8 

Production  of 4 

Relative  Values  of 4 

Varieties  of 2 

Issaquah  Mine 51 

I.  X.  L.  Mine 36,  37 

King  County- 

Coal  Fields  of 51 

Iron  Ores  of 17 

Kittitas  County  — 

Coal  Fields  of 57 

Iron  Ores  of 16 

Lake  Cushman  District 18 

Lewis  County  Coal  Fields 62 

Lawson  Mine 56 

Mason  County  Iron  Ores 18 

Montezuma  Mine 59 

Newcastle  Mine 51 

Ores  of  Iron 2 

Pierce  County  Coal  Fields 56 

Pittsburg  Mine 19,  24 

Red  Ash  Mine 65 

Renton  Mine 53 

Roslyn  Coal  Mine 60 

Roslyn  Iron  Mine 27,  31 

Salzer  Valley  Mine 63 

Shedd,  S.,  Analyses  by 

25,  26,  30,  31,  32,  37,  38 

Silver  King  Mine 36,  38 

Skagit  County  — 

Coal  Fields  of 49 

Iron  Ores  of 16 

Smith  and  Willis 27,  29,  33 

Snoqualmie  Pass  District 25 

Stevens  County  Iron  Ores 17 

Stretch,  R.  H 33 

Tenino  Mine 61 

Thatcher,  R.  W.,  Analyses  by,  21, 22.  23,  24 

Thurston  County  Coal.  Fields 61 

Treadwell  Mine 19,  23 

Valley  District 36 

Vigilant  Mine 36,  38 

Whatcom  County  Coal  Fields 47 

Wilkeson  Mine 58 

Willis  and  Smith 27,  29,  33 

Willis  Mine 58 

Yankee  Mine 27,  31 


